Not Your Normal Teaching Job
by Elizabeth Bartlett
Summary: When the teacher for Atlantis' new school arrives, the adventure of a lifetime begins. R&R. The Final Chapter is up!
1. Arrival, Chemlab and Dreamy Doctors

I don't know why I'm here. Well, I do but at the same time I don't. I'm not brainy or military; I'm just a kindergarten teacher. Actually I'm certified to teach K-8 but I prefer to teach kindergarten. "_This is the last time I tell Daniel about wanting to try something new and exciting._" I tell myself as I tighten the hold I have on my suitcase. The Deadalus gives a lurch, telling everyone that it's finally landed, and starts to lower its ramp. I take a deep breath to steady my nerves and make my way off of the interstellar ship. I step onto the polished, smooth metal and my eyes go wide at the sight of Atlantis. Yup, that's right; I'm on _Atlantis_. As in the 'Lost City'. Only it's not so lost anymore, I tell myself. So does that make it, the 'Found City' then? Ok, that's a bit silly.

"Maxine Wainwright?"

I hear someone call my name, snapping me out of my gaping. I look to where the voice had come from and I see a medium height, brunette, brown eyed, around my age, way-thinner-than-I'll-ever-be women smiling. I nod my head, set my case down and stick out my hand saying, "Call me Max."

"Elizabeth Weir." She says, shaking my hand. "Welcome to Atlantis."

"Thanks."

"Why don't I show you where you'll be staying and working?" Elizabeth says. I nod and start to pick up my case when she says, "Don't worry about it. They'll take care of it." I shrug and follow Elizabeth inside. I clearly labeled all my stuff but I still end up thinking that someone's gonna end up with my Chemlab and I'll get their Simon and Garfunkel. As I walk with Elizabeth I can't hope but notice how busy it is.

"Here we are. This will be the classroom." Elizabeth says, stopping in front of a door. On the right side to the door there was a panel with three small crystal looking thingies. Elizabeth pressed down on the middle one and the door swishes open. I grin. It's like something from 'Star Trek'. _Beam Me Up Scottie._ As we enter I spot a small notecard that has 'daycare' written on it. Excuse me? _Daycare?_ I thought I was going to be teaching kindergarten, not babysitting. I know what you're thinking, and trust me; there's a difference. I'm gonna have to bring that up with Elizabeth before we leave. I follow Elizabeth into the hallway and into large room. As I look around I see that it looks almost exactly like the hallways, the same shade of metal and it just gives off this sterile, unused feeling. But I'm not worried about it; I can fix it up with the supplies I've brought with me. Just give me some paper, glitter, scissors, and a glue gun and I'm good to go. I smile and walk farther into the room. There are kid-sized chairs and tables as well as a more normal sized chair and desk, and there are sliding glass doors that lead to a balcony. I'm already starting to figure out where I'm going to put the huge area rug I had shipped over with the rest of my teaching supplies. You never know when you're gonna need a copy of 'The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales'. "This is nice." I say, slowly nodding as I turn around to see the rest of the room.

"I'm glad that you like it." Elizabeth says. "Would you like to see where you're going to stay now or later?"

"Now would be good." I say. We walk out of the room and pass the 'daycare' sign. Ok; I have to say something about that. "I noticed the sign in front of the door." I casually say. "I thought that I was going to teach kindergarten."

"You are." Elizabeth says, looking slightly confused.

Ok, now it's my turn to be confused. "I'm not sure I understand then because it said 'daycare' back there and not 'pre-school' or anything like that."

"Oh." She says when it finally clicks. I guess being in charge of an entire city means that you don't notice all the small stuff. Elizabeth smiles and says, "That must have been John. He has a strange sense of humor."

"Ah." I say. I guess he's someone who likes to play pranks on unsuspecting people. My brother is like that, the scar on my head is proof enough. He had filled a bucket with water and placed it on top of my door so I would get soaked when I opened it. It worked, but he had used a metal bucket and I yanked the door open so it and the water fell on me and I ended up with a mild concussion and ten stitches in my head. Mom yelled at him for an hour and he never did that prank again.

"How much do you know about the expedition?" Elizabeth asks as we round a corner.

"I know about the Stargate and the Wraith, so I guess that you could say that I know the majority about all of this. Daniel, uh, Dr. Jackson is a friend of mine and actually submitted my name for the position." I say.

Elizabeth nods and asks, "Have you read any of the mission reports?"

"A few." I admit. I had wanted to know what I was getting into and had bugged Daniel until he finally got permission from General Ames. Sometimes it really helps that your best friend is "an invaluable asset" to a government operation.

"Then you know how crazy it gets around here. You'll have to look after the kids outside of normal school hours."

Ok, wasn't really expecting that one, but I can deal. Good thing I love kids so much, or we'd be in trouble. We've reached another door that looks like everyone else's and I wonder how I'm gonna remember which one's mine. Elizabeth presses the middle crystal and the door opens. I walk in and take a look at where I'm gonna be staying. It's pretty cool; a single bedroom, a nightstand, a couch, a glass coffee table, a few chairs, a few tables. There aren't any doors, just partitions of foggy glass and it's all open space. Something I love. But again it feels too clean and sterile, like no one's been living there for awhile. But once I get all my stuff I'll liven up the place. It's got potential.

"…ahead Carson." I hear Elizabeth say. Since it's just the two of us here, I figure out that she must be talking on one of those headsets everyone has. I'm gonna need one of those while I'm here. "…I'm sorry, I was just eager to show her where she'd be teaching that I forgot. I'll bring her right down." I hear Elizabeth say as I walk back towards her. She looks at me and says, "That was Carson, our Chief Medical Officer. I was so excited about you coming that I took you away before he could give you a check-up. I told him that I would bring you right down."

Carson Beckett? Not Samuel Beckett? Sorry, Very Bad Joke there. The man must here those kind of _QL_ jokes all the time. I nod my head in agreement and we head down to the infirmary. On the way there we chat about what a "normal" (and after hearing what goes on here, I use that term loosely) day usually consists of. As we talk more, I learn that I'll be teaching during the school year and then when it's not in session I'll be running "daycare" (so to speak). That's fine with me, I love little kids to pieces and they love me. I started to ask who I'd report to and other stuff but Elizabeth stops in front of these two clear doors and says, "Here we are. I'll leave you here, I have some things to take of. I'll have someone drop off a headset later on." She then turned around and left before I could say anything. I stare at the doors, trying to work up the nerve to go through them and get the check-up over with. I don't have a problem with doctors, _especially_ if they're cute, single, and drive a convertible; it's just that I hate needles, shots, and can't handle the sight of blood/gore. Even if I know it's fake. Don't know why, it just creeps me out. Taking a deep breath I think, "_It's now or never._" and walk through the doors. I look around and my anxiety lessens some. It looks like a normal clinic, well with the exception of it being in a distant galaxy.

"Maxine?" someone asks. I turn my head to where the voice was coming from and see a cute, scruffy doctor (I think. He looks like a doctor) walking towards me. I try and talk but my voice has suddenly decided to leave me so I just nod. He smiles and sticks out his hand saying, "Carson Beckett."

My stomach does a flip-flop and I can't help but think, "_When I visit Earth I'm going to treat Daniel to where ever he wants to go._" I shake his hand and will my legs not to turn to jelly. "Call me Max." I manage to say.

"Alrigh' Max. If ya jus' come this way we'll get started." Carson says, motioning to one of the partitioned spaces.

Oh, God he's Scottish _and_ dreamy. He's already got two of the requirements for my perfect guy. Where as he been all my life? I just grin and follow him. The check up isn't as bad as I thought it would be. It's just the usual stuff, and since I don't have the Ancient Gene he gives me a shot that will supposedly deliver the Gene into my system…I have no idea how it works, I was horrible at science. And since Carson gives me the shot I don't freak out like I normally would. I wonder if he has the same effect on all the women on the base.

"Jus' one more thing." He says after the shot. "I noticed on your record that you have asthma, is that correct?"

I nod. "I've had it since I was little."

"Ah." He says, making a note on his chart.

Ok, now I'm starting to get worried. "Is there anything wrong?" I ask.

"Oh, nothin' for you to worry about, lass. Do you take any meds for it?"

"250/50 of Advair twice a day and then Abuterol whenever I need it." I say.

Carson just nods and makes more notes on the chart.

"I've brought plenty of refills, if that's what you're wondering about." I volunteer.

"Oh I'm not worried about that. I jus' like to know who has what around here."

Right. "That sounds good since it's your job to make sure that people don't pass out for any unexplained reason." I say. Oh my God did I just say that? What was I thinking? Go ahead Max, just go ahead and make an ass out of yourself in front of the dreamy doctor.

Carson smiles and says, "Oh you'd be surprised at what happens around here."

Ok, time to go before you dig yourself any deeper. I stand and make my out of the infirmary. As the doors close I feel my cheeks heat up and I make my way to my quarters avoiding eye contact. So much for a good first impression. The rest of my first day passes without any more embarrassing moments. I arrive back from the infirmary to find that all my stuff has arrived. I dig though a few boxes until I find what I'm looking for; my laptop. It's practically an electronic me; it has all my favorite music, pictures, andstories on it. I turn it on and then open up my music player. Gotta have music when it's just me, otherwise it's kind of creepy. Plus when it's just me I can crank it up as loud as I want and not have my roommate complain, but there's always the people next, above and below us who don't have the same taste in music that I do so I always am careful to keep it down but loud enough so I can hear it when I'm in the next room. I hit play and smile as the first notes to 'Scornocopia' play. _Your rough beauty catches my breath Trashed flashed and too much make-up Spiked-heeled sky-scraped But baby you got some guts With your toothy grin around your gun What did you say? Wanna die young die young That's what you said That's what you did Your such a cliché Behind your mirrored shades..._

I do a little dance to the music as I make my way to the first box and open it. By the time I'm ready to fall asleep on my feet I've managed to unpack some clothes, pictures of my parents, Dave (my boyfriend), Tori and Hugh (sister and brother), Cindy (one of my best friends), me andShawn (another best friend) at Halloween dressed as a Jedi Knight and a Goastbuster (in that order); I'm holding a lightsaber made from metal piping and he's wearing an actual buster pack, and me when I was younger with Commander Bun-Bun (my teddy bear). I still have him and brought him along. What? I'm sure there are lots of people out there who still sleep with a stuffed animal of some kind. I leave the rest for later. I don't have the energy to make the bed so I crash on the couch. It's one of those overstuffed deals and so comfortable that I don't want to ever get up. As I drift off to sleep I can't help but think that my stay here is gonna be fun.

A/N: Ok,this ismy third shot at a POV story. I'll be up front and admit that it's a bit MarySue-ish. The story follows my 'Dark Secret' story where Rodney gets Laura pregnanat but she marries Carson...I won't tell the whole thing, go read it yourself for the background. It's been unbeta-ed so all mistakes are mine, the only thing I own is the character Max. Do people like it or is it really bad?


	2. Inigo Montoya breaks the ice

I've been here a week and have yet to know where I'm going. Every hallway looks the same. The only thing I _can_ find besides my room and the classroom is the cafeteria. It's hard not to find; the smells and the steady stream of people make it easy. I take a tray and after loading it with cereal (Fruit Loops to be specific), milk, a bagel, and strawberry cream cheese I look for an empty table. The area's mostly filled with an odd spot or two vacant, but I don't sit down in those spots because I know no one (other than Elizabeth and Carson. And that's only in passing). Give me some credit here; I've only been on Atlantis for a week. I'm shy when meeting people I don't know and tend to be the silent one in the group. But once I get to know you, it's hard to shut me up. I see a spot near the windows and make a bee-line for it. "_It's like high school all over again._" I think to myself. Who wants to look like a complete dork standing in the middle of the room looking for somewhere to sit? Those four years were traumatic enough for me; I don't need to start reliving them now. I mostly people watch as I eat, see who sits where and with whom. By the time I'm halfway done with my Fruit Loops I can pretty much tell which group sits where. The military "guys" (there are some girls mixed in) are mostly in the center, I found them pretty quickly; the loud laughter, shoving, yelling, and food flinging was a dead giveaway, but they also sit here and there. The "geeks" are more off to the left, closer to the door, their noses buried in notebooks, thick textbooks, or computers and they seem oblivious to the flying eggs (or what looks like eggs) and bits of food sailing over their heads. And then there's me. Sitting alone like the new kid in school. God, I'm such a nerd. I need to make some friends so I don't end up eating alone all the time. All those insecurities that took five years of therapy to get rid of start wiggling their way back into my brain. But I give myself a mental slap, and will those thoughts out my head.

"Nice shirt. Where'd you get it?" I hear someone say.

I look up and see a girl with coke-bottle glasses and brown hair standing to the side of me. It takes a moment to realize that she's commenting on my Inigo Montoya shirt. I smile and say, "Christmas gift from my cousin. We both love the movie."

"So do I." she says. "Lydia Winter."

I nod my head, not saying anything. "And you are…." Lydia says, trailing off.

Oh. I guess that it's my turn. "Max Wainwright."

"Ok, Max, mind if I sit down?" Lydia asks.

"Sure go ahead." I say and she sits down. "I see you got the Fruit Loops too." I comment.

"Yea, it beats whatever those yellow things are."

"I think those are supposed to be eggs."

"Supposed to be?" Lydia says, raising an eyebrow.

I shrug. "So…Inigo Montoya." I say, smiling.

Lydia smiles as well. "Yea although he's my second favorite."

"Your second?" I asked, slightly shocked. All my girlfriends think Inigo is hot, and look past the fact that you can hardly understand a word he says the majority of the time.

"Westly is my first."

"Say no more."

"I thought so."

"So what do you do here?" I ask, tearing off a piece of my bagel.

"Regenerating the usage in the ZPM using the Lemmon hypothesis and-"

Everything else just goes in one ear and out the other. I had a hard enough time passing college physics, so don't expect me to understand a word she says. "…I'm sorry, I tend to ramble." I hear Lydia say, snapping me back to the present. Dang it, I was having a rather nice daydream involving Carson (Yes I know I have a boyfriend, but can't a girl dream?).

I shrug and say, "No problem, I tend to do the same. It's hard to shut me up once you get me started about something I'm really into. Like Wormhole X-treme and Firefly." Don't get me started on those shows, I'll go on forever. Especially about Dr. LeVar (and no, that's not because he happens to be based on a certain friend of mine), Wash, and Jayne; they're such hotties.

"I'm the same way with Lone Gunman."

"Not so much but I was still a fan. Got it on DVD when it came out."

"Byers, Frohike, or Langly?"

"Byers. You?"

"Langly. What about Firefly? I liked Mal."

"Tie between Wash and Jayne. I was so mad when they kill him. One moment he was like "Anakin Skywalker eat your heart out; I'm a leaf on the wind watch how I soar and then-"

"I know. I cried. Honestly, there were tears."

"I refuse to watch the rest of the movie, just because of that one scene."

"I just skip that and go to the shirtless Simon part."

I smile and laugh. What are the odds of two people like us being in the same city? This is great.

"Bring them with you?"

"I think. I forget which DVDs I packed."

"Either way we have to have a movie night."

"Sounds cool." Wait, did I just agree to a 'girls' night out' thing with someone I just met? I guess I did. Huh, go figure. "But it might not be for awhile." I add. "I just got here and have to set up my classroom." Lydia looks as me strangely for a few seconds then it must have clicked because she says, "Oh, so you're the teacher they brought over on the Daedalus."

"Yup." I say, nodding my head. "You could say that I literally wanted to expand my horizons."

Lydia laughs at the comment and I relax a bit more. "Do you play poker?" she asks me.

I shake my head and say, "Nope. Why?"

"There's usually a weekly girl's poker night. Nothing to big; just a bunch of us getting together to play and talk." Lydia says. "Although we seem to do more talking then playing."

I laugh. "Sounds like fun. When's the next one?"

"Tonight. Want to come?"

"Can't, have to finish unpacking. Maybe next week."

"Ok, I'll let the girls know."

"I have to warn you that I've never played."

"Don't worry. We'll teach you."

"Ok." We talk about this and that; favorite shows, movies, actors, bands. That sort of thing. I learn that she listens to punk and only punk and hates Avril Lavinge with a passion (as do I but not to her degree). When I mention that I have the new Panic! At The Disco album she all but drools. We argue for 10 minutes on who's better; Red Hot Chili Peppers or The Ramones. When the conversation lags I see that almost a half-hour has gone by. I have a meeting with Elizabeth in fifteen minutes and by the looks of it, I'm gonna be late. I had heard about the settlement on the mainland and wanted to talk to Elizabeth about me going over there. "Geeze look at the time, I gotta get going." I say standing. Lydia stands as well and says, "Me to. McKay's gonna kill me…well, not if I kill him first."

So she hates her boss. Been there, done that, bought the shoes. "He's that kind of person?" I ask.

She nods her head and says, "Imagine the most egotistical person that you know and times it by ten. That's Rodney McKay."

Ah…that makes things so much clearer. We dump our trays and walk out together. "I guess I'll see you around." I say.

Lydia nods and says, "Later."

I rush along the hallways, only get lost twice and have to backtrack once. Hey, I think I'm finally learning my way around this place.

A/N: It's true; I do watch up to the point in 'Serenity' where Wash gets killed and refuse to watch the rest of the movie. -shakes fist at Joss Whedon- You just had to kill him didn't you? -sniff- 'Princess Bride' is one of my favorite movies, although I don't have an Inigo Montoya shirt (but I want one) and I think that Red Hot Chili Peppers are better than The Ramones (although I like both). I don't own the genius that is Lydia Winter, she belongs to BiteMeTechie, who is like my Yoda. She got me to write humor and started the trend that is breaking McKay's nose. -pimps story- Go read 'Retribution!' and you'll see what I mean. The only thing I own is Max. Leave your thoughts in the form of reviews, and flames are welcome just in the form of constructive criticism (all others shall be banished to the darkest depths of the Maytag).


	3. Lifeius Interruptius

Bartlett wasn't happy. She couldn't fall asleep until 2am, ended up sleeping on the couch, and was woken up an hour early by her younger sister (who shall be called from now on 'Sis') who decided to sit on an eternally creaky chair. So she figured if Techie and Nenya could do this, so could she. Bartlett got up and saw that it was overcast. After waking up more and showering, she turned on the computer and started her day. Everything was fine; she listened to Pandora (online radio), checked email, went to ff dot net and read her favorite story ('When Plot Bunnies Attack' go read it; it's friggin' hilarious.) Then it started to storm so she turned off the computer because she didn't want it to get fried. The storm passed quickly and Bartlett turned the computer back on to resume her online activities (minds out of the gutter please). But when the screen came on, Bartlett noticed that something wasn't right; every icon was huge and it looked like a throwback to Pacman. Bartlett sighed and looked at the time; 9:30am. Bartlett decided that she had time to fix the computer and still have time to go online before getting her books for the fall term. Wrong. She spent the entire time trying to fix it, but it wouldn't (or didn't want to be) fix(ed). Bartlett thought that if the computer was off for awhile then it would change back to the way it was. So Bartlett turned off the computer and drove happily to her school (a community college) listening to Chicago's alternative radio station and singing along to the songs that she knew. Bartlett then picked up her books (which cost almost $290) and went to deposit the nice paycheck that she had received the day before. Going inside, Bartlett commented on how muggy it was to Sis (who pretended to listen while typing away on her laptop and listening to the TV) and turned on the computer. After changing, Bartlett walked back into the room to see if the computer was "normal" again. Nope. So Bartlett spends almost two hours trying to fix the computer. Nothing works. So Bartlett resists the urge to throw the PC out the window and turns off the computer. She hasn't been online since 9:30am and is starting to go through withdrawl. She _needs_ to get online and see what people think of her brand of wit and to listen to Sex Pistols or White Strips and annoy Sis by singing along with the lyrics. A lightbulb goes on over Bartlett's head. It was the living room light Sis had just turned it on but it still gave Bartlett an idea. Smiling, Bartlett went over to Sis and said in an nice voice, "Sis, can I borrow your laptop?" Sis's computer had wireless internet.

"Sure"

Bartlett blinked. She had expected Sis to say no. "Ok." Bartlett sits down and clicks on the icon. A window pops up that says, 'Wireless internet not available'.

"It's not working." Bartlett tells Sis.

"Oh well." Sis says, shrugging.

Bartlett wants to smash her head against the wall repeatedly but resists the urge to. The wall would be to expensive to replace and she didn't want to visit the ER. Again. So Bartlett settles down to watch 'Law&Order' (Yay Jerry Orbach!) Half-way through Bartlett asks Sis, "Can I type on your laptop?"

"How long?"

"Not long." The phone then rings and it's Bartlett's friend, 'AbydosGoddess'. Bartlett trips on Sis's adaptor cord on the way to answer the phone and Sis laughs. Bartlett doesn't find it funny. 'AbydosGoddess' wants to hang with Sis and Bartlett at the mall. Bartlett knows that if she goes to the mall she'll spend money she can't spend at the moment (going to the SG convention in Chicago takes a lot of money). Bartlett declines but Sis wants to go. Sis asks Bartlett, "Can I use your car?"

"Why?"  
"Because I want to have a full tank so I don't have to fill up tomorrow." (Sis was going back to her summer job for the weekend.)

"Only if you let me use your laptop and five bucks."

"No I'm not going to pay you."

"Fine then you can't drive my car."

"Then you can't use my laptop."

After glaring at each other, Bartlett and Sis finally relent to each other and Sis drives off in Bartlett's car (2003 VW Beetle) while Bartlett worries that Sis is going to wreak Bartlett's car. Again (don't ask about the first time, still to painful to talk about). Bartlett is momentarily appeased, typing away and watching 'The Drew Carey Show'. Bartlett then watches an episode of 'Charmed' (the one where Page goes back in time and Leo has the Jonas season 7 haircut) and 'Gilmore Girls'. Bartlett starts to feel better and can't wait for her male parental unit to get home so they can go laptop shopping. He comes home and around seven Bartlett and her parental unit go shopping. They arrive at the store only to find that the store has sold-out of the computer that Bartlett wanted. Bartlett smacks the ad against her head and Bartlett's father looks at her like she belongs in a nice padded room. Bartlett ignores the look (she's used to getting them) and they look at other laptop's, finally deciding on a Toshiba. They but the laptop and grab a sandwich at a local Italian restaurant. They come home and after watching 'Who Wants To Be A Superhero?' Bartlett plugs in the computer and loads it. She can't wait to get onto word and start working on her MarySue-ish story. She's had an idea and wants to get it down before it disappears. Meanwhile Bartlett's mom tries to fix the computer that won't behave but isn't able to, so it's stuck like that for the weekend (the parents are going camping while Bartlett works). Bartlett gets her computer working and is already starting to decide on which Paul McGillion or Michael Shanks wallpaper to put up. She opens word and tries to start typing but it won't let her. Bartlett closes her eyes and groans. What else can go wrong? After fiddling around for a bit, she gives up and play 'Solitaire' for a bit while listening to the new 'All-American Rejects' CD. Around midnight she turns off Lappy and goes to sleep, dreaming of Dark Angel and Stargate. Bartlett then gets up around 9:35am and knows that today is going to better than yesterday. She turns on Lappy and activates her internet account. She then proceeds to visit all her favorite websites, check e-mail, and type up her day in third person. So far it's nice and relaxing. She could get used to this.

A/N: So that was my day yesterday. Oy, it was a day. That's whyI wrotethis little "interlude" (if you will). I needed to vent a little and I thought to myself 'If Techie can write a thing like this then so canI'. SoI did. Which is this.And whichyou are reading right now.But today is much better.So far. I still have to work during 'SG' and 'SGA' so I'mnot happy about that, but that's life what are ya gonna do? You shall be returned to your regular story the next update.


	4. Encounter of the Embarassing Kind

And now we bring you back to your regularly schedualed story...enjoy!

(insert nifty divider thingie)

I hum along to the music that's playing away on my laptop while hanging up my alphabet poster. It's really cool; it has all the letters of the alphabet in bubble letters with a word and a picture to go with the letter (like for 'A' there's an apple). Since I'm 5'5" and the wall is much more higher than me, I have to stand on a chair and even then it's not high enough so I end up on my tip-toes, trying not to fall off. I'd like to keep my visits to the infirmary at a minimum, thank you very much, no matter how cute Carson is. The song ends as I finish hanging the poster up and hop down from the chair another one starts to play.

_Got a big plan, his mind's set, maybe it's right At the right place and right time, maybe tonight In a whisper or handshake sending a sign Wanna make out and kiss hard, wait never mind Late night, in passing, mention it flip to her Best friend, it's no thing, maybe it slipped but the slip turns to terror and a crush to like when she walked in he froze up, leave it to fright…_

Hey, who put this on my computer? It must have been Dave. Oh well, I like the song; just not what it means. I start to gently dance to the song as I make my way over to the pile of stuff I still have to put up. I had set my music player on random so I wasn't surprised when it went from techno to alternative, but _was _surprised to hear this song play. I find myself softly singing along while sifting through the pile, trying to decide what to hang up next. I brought along a bunch of themes; fall, winter, holidays, spring, summer, back to school, etc. I decided to go with the back to school theme although it won't be starting until next week. I have little school buses and schoolhouses up around the room as well as kids holding books and wearing backpacks. I even threw up a few leaves around the room since the season was starting to change. I haven't set up the area rug yet because they mistakenly put it in my quarters and I haven't felt like lugging it through the hallways yet, so I'm leaving that for last. Maybe I can find some cute soldier boy and use my "womanly charms" to get him to help me with it. I pick up a purple dinosaur saying 'reading is cool' poster and move to put it up, lip-syncing to the lyrics.

_…I want to hold you close Skin pressed against me tight Lie still, and close your eyes girl So lovely, it feels so right I want to hold you close Soft breath, beating heart As I whisper in your ear I want to fucking tear you apart…_

"Isn't that lovely."

I jump when I hear someone speak. I look up and see a lanky dark haired man leaning against the doorframe. After my 'deer in headlights' impersonation, I realize that the song is still playing and I dash over to turn it off. After hitting the 'pause' button, I feel my cheeks start to heat up and I say, "Make a hobby out of sneaking up behind people?" He smiles and gives a soft chuckle.

"I can't help it if I have the natural stealth of a cat." He replies.

"You mean a lynx?" I retort. Hey, look at that; my brain can work...just not how I want it to. I mean, _Lynx_? Where the hell did that come from? I seem have a habit of opening my mouth when I should just keep it shut. Like now.

He just smiles more and said, "I was thinking more tiger. I wanted to let you know that there's a boot camp for all the newbie's on Atlantis this weekend-"

"Let me guess, I have to go?" I say before he could finish.

"And she's smart as well as cute. Friday 11am, show up at the Gate room. Don't be late." He says then turns around and walks into the hallway.

Hold up, back up a minute, rewind the tape, watch the replay; was he just flirting with me? My feet become unglued from the floor and I go after him. "Hey," I call out. He stops and turns around. "what's you're name? I'm Max."

"John. John Sheppard." He says and then grins at me and walks away.

I just stand there. The military commander of Atlantis was just _flirting_ (or at least I think it was flirting) with me. Did they leave any of the cute guys on Earth or are they all over here? A kid runs past me and I hear someone yell, "Patrick Allen McKay stop running and Get Back Here!" So there's one of kids I'll be looking after. Lucky me.

A/N: Sorry for the time inbetween posts, life's been crazy. The next two chapters were inspired by 'The Atlantis Handbook' by Cammy. Go read it, it's laugh-out-loud, spit-take, people-looking-at-you-like-you-belong-in-a-nice-padded-room funny. There's five bonus points to who ever can name the song and the band that plays/sings it without looking it up on a music player or the Web. I only own Max, everything else belongs to MGM/Cooper-Wright. Read and Review, flames accepted but only in the form of constrictive criticism.


	5. Off to a Tumbling Start

_I gaze into his bright blue eyes and for a second I wish that I didn't have to leave tonight. But I gaze away and say; "I have to go." I then start walking towards the plane. It's killing both of us that I have to leave, but we promised that we'd see one another every other weekend. I know that it's an empty promise, but I'll try to see him as often as I can. I'm halfway towards the plane when he shouts for me to wait. I turn back towards him and we lock eyes._

_"Stay here and marry me." He calls out._

_I don't know what to say. "Why now?" I say._

_"I don't want you to go. I love you, damn it."_

_I stand there for a few seconds before I realize that I love him as well. Running back towards him, I embrace him and say, "I love you too, Carson."_

_He smiles and gives me a deep, sensual kiss. Suddenly a motorcycle roars across the ice rink and penguins start doing the Can-Can._

I open my eyes and groan. Damn, it was just a dream. But a nice one at that. I guess I shouldn't watch _Casablanca_ before falling asleep. And I somehow ended up on the other end of my bed. I really don't want to know how I got there. My alarm's blaring. I grope around for it and slap it quiet. I collapse back onto my pillow, hug Commander Bun-Bun closer, and try to drift back into the oh-so wonderful dream I was having before I was so rudely interrupted. It's a hopeless cause. I throw the covers back, half-stand half-roll out of bed and make a face at the sun streaming through my windows. I'm not a morning person (if you couldn't tell). After showering and dressing for the day I exit my room and head for the cafeteria (or as Lydia and I have come to call it, "the experiment lab"). Ick, it's Friday. Don't get me wrong, I love the weekends; you can sleep in and walk around kind of grungy and people don't care because they're doing the same thing. But today's the start of the boot camp for all the newbie's. Which I am part of. I grab a tray and make my way down the line. I see that they're serving biscuit's and gravy today. Normally I love the stuff; can't get enough of it even though my dad says they can clog your arteries by just looking at it, but now it just looks like some you'd give the dog for breakfast. Don't get me wrong, I know how hard the kitchen staff works to make and serve the meals for us; I worked at a restaurant during college. It's just that I don't know how they can turn something I love into something I don't and I now get all those MASH jokes about army cooking. At least our head chief isn't army; I've actually gotten to know Alex quite well in the few weeks I've been here. She's even given me the dish on most of the gossip in Atlantis. Anyhoo, I skip the biscuit's and gravy and just pick up a glass of milk and a bagel. I snag a window seat, there's something about the ocean view that I just love, and start to eat.

"Hey, how's it going?" Lydia says sliding into the seat across from me. We've taken to eating together whenever we're not busy.

"Not bad." I reply. "Had a really nice dream."

"About Carson?" she asks, digging into her Lucky Charms. I don't know why we keep getting those kinds of cereals; you'd think that who ever stocks us would supply Raisin Bran or healthy stuff like that.

I feel my face heat up and she grins. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Hey in my defense it was quite romantic."

"Uh-huh." From her tone I can tell she's not convinced.

"It's true. I watched _Casablanca_ last night, so it was one of those 40-ish romantic movie type dreams." Hey, wait a minute. Why am I defending myself to the person who did an impromptu rendition of 'Sweet Transvestite' in the middle of a department store? I don't care if she got a standing ovation from the snack bar as security led her out, that's just not something a normal person would do. But who am I to talk about what's normal? I'm the only one in the family who still watches cartoons.

"Yea, fure, whaefer." Lydia says through a mouthful of Charms.

I just roll my eyes and give up trying to convince her that the dream was completely non-sexual.

"Are you going to teach over on the mainland?" Lydia asks with an empty mouth this time.

I shake my head and say, "Nope. I talked about it at length with Dr. Weir but she said that the Athosians still don't really trust us and bringing up the suggestion of someone from the Expedition teaching their kids didn't seem like a good idea. I'd still like to visit the settlement while I'm here; get a feel for their system of teaching." I then glance at my Powerpuff Girls watch and see that is quarter to eleven. Dang, I must have set my alarm later than I originally thought. "Aw, crap." I say, standing.

"Wha'?" Lydia asks, quirking an eyebrow.

"I've got that newbie boot camp in 15." I say.

She just smiles and laughs. Gee, that makes me feel that much more confident about this weekend. "I had to do that when I arrived. Have fun."

"Whatever." I mumble. I quickly clear my tray and exit the cafeteria. Ok, now I have 10 minutes to get to the Gate room. Which is about halfway across the city. I'm _so _gonna be late. The only way I can see getting there in time is to use the Ancient transporter. Which I haven't used yet. There's just something about being dematerialized that sets me on edge. Well that and the fact that I'm slightly claustrophobic (thank you mom for giving that to me). I make my way to a transporter which is just down the hall from the cafeteria doors and I stare at it for another five minutes trying to work up the nerve to get in, and which leaves me with 5 minutes. Oh well, it's now or never. I step forward and the door slides open almost soundlessly. Taking a deep breath I step into the small transporter and study the map of Atlantis. 4 minutes and counting. I want to make sure I know where I'm going. 2 minutes 30 seconds. I don't want to end up in an unused or undiscovered portion of the city. A minute left. Pressing the spot where I want to go I see the door swishing shut and I close my eyes, hoping for the best. The next thing I know I hear the doors opening. I slightly open one eye and see that I've arrived in one piece. I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding and exit the transporter. 10 seconds to spare. I enter the Gate room and see that I'm not the only one to get there just in time. There are about 60 "newbie's" in the Gate room, milling about waiting for it to begin. I catch a glimpse of Elizabeth in her office talking with a slightly stocky man with short brown hair and I see two kids in the office as well their faces down, so I can't see them. One of them reaches for something and I see that it's crayon so I assume that they're coloring. Before I can learn more John starts speaking so I turn my attention to him.

"-learn over these three days might actually come in use during your stay here on Atlantis." He says. "Today we're gonna head on over to the Alpha Site for target practice and give those who have never gone off world some experience." John then turns to a techie and says, "Dial it up."

Wait a minute, hold the phone; we're going off world? I was barely able to handle the transporter, I don't think I can handle going through something _way_ bigger. As the Gate starts to light up I feel my breath start to catch and realize that I'm on the threshold of a panic attack. Ok, chill Max. It's no big deal, just relax. Think positive thoughts; like how cute Carson is. Think of his accent, those bright blue eyes, his smile, of the dream you had last night. Breathe in deeply and slowly, breathe out slowly; in, out. In, out. In, out. I start to relax and find it easier to breathe. I reach to the back of my jeans and place a hand on my back pocket to reassure myself that I had brought my inhaler with. Wouldn't want to have an attack off world and not have it with. I feel it through the fabric and that puts my mind at ease about that. I'm still not to hot about going through the Stargate.

"Hey you alright?" I hear someone ask me.

I turn to my left and see a guy around my height with crazy brownish-blonde hair, blue eyes and wearing thin wire framed glasses. From the scruffy beard, I guess that he hadn't shaved in a few days, but it works for him. I nod and say, "First time going through the Gate."

"Ah." He says, smiling. God, are all the guys here on Atlantis drop dead gorgeous? "Don't worry, you get used to it. Logan Cale. Cybergenetics."

"Max Wainwright." Cale. Hmm, that name sounds really familiar. Where did I see/hear it? Damn it, my mind's drawing a blank and yet I know that name from somewhere. Aw, frak it, it'll come to me later.

"I had a friend named Max back in Seattle." Logan says. "So, Max, what do you do here? You don't look like a science person and since it's mostly that crowd I'm guessing that you're military."

I laugh. Me military. That's a good one. "Nope, not military." I say once the laughter has subsided. "I'm actually the new kindergarten teacher."

"Oh, sorry." He says, a faint blush starting to appear.

"That's ok; most people don't even know that the SGC is starting a school here." I say as the Gate springs to life with a 'kawoosh'. My eyes go wide as I stare at it. Dude, that is so _cool_; it looks like a giant shimmering puddle. I wonder if you get wet when you go through it. John and the other instructors go through first and everyone else starts heading towards the puddle. "I guess that we should follow them."

"Ladies first."

"Age before beauty."

"I'm 30, how old are you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." Sometimes it helps to be born on Leap Year Day. "Besides if you've done this before, why are you with all us newbie's?"

"I used to work for the SGC and went through the Gate there on a regular basis. I just recently transferred to Atlantis." By this time we're just in front of the Gate and I hesitate. Logan must have picked up on my fear, because he said, "Don't worry; it's like a roller coaster."

Um, ok. A roller coaster that can dematerialize you and transport you however many light-years away instantly. He smiles and I almost melt. He steps forward and I watch him become enveloped by the shimmering blue. I take a deep breath and step through. The next thing I know I'm stumbling forward from the unexpected force, lose my footing, and tumble into someone. We go down the platform together, roll past people and come to a stop a few feet from the Gate. I finally get a look at who I stumbled into and see that it was Logan. And he's now on top of me, inches from my face. Oh. My. God. My face must be turning five different shades of red right now. My heart's pounding and we lock eyes for a second before we realize that people are staring at us.

"Sorry." He says and quickly gets off of me. I'm at a loss for words right now, so I just nod my head and struggle to stand. Logan offers a hand, but I'm too mortified right now to take it.

"I'm fine." I manage to say, finally standing. I run a hand through my hair, smoothing it down, and turn away from Logan. Not even off world for a minute and I manage to make a fool out of myself. Well hey, now people have something to talk about when we return back to Atlantis.

"You alright?" John says, coming over to where we're standing.

"Yea, just had a rough landing." I say, my face heating up even more. I didn't know that was even possible. The few people who had seen the entire thing just look away and to hide (unsuccessfully) their smiles.

John just gives me a strange look and walks away. "We'll be dividing you into groups. Some of you will head over to the target range, some'll head over to the compass course; where you'll play military 'Hide and Seek' with a few tweaks, it'll be explained to you once you reach the course, and the rest of you'll head over to the indoor range. Listen for your name. The first group will be going to the outdoor range with Stackhouse." John then rattles off twenty names, including mine. I cast a silent prayer to the author thanking her for not putting Logan in the same group as me. He's in the group that's going to the compass course. After the last name's been called out, we follow Stackhouse for a few miles out to where the range is. But before we start shooting, he has us put on safety glasses. Then the lesson starts. On a table there are two types of guns; one that looks like a 9mm and the other that's bigger and slightly bulkier. Picking the 9mil up, he starts to explain how it works. My uncle had been a cop in Chicago; he was the one who taught me how to handle a 9mm. He then picks up the bigger gun (P90) and does the same. After that we pick up either a P90 or 9mm and start practicing. I got handed a 9mm so I make my way over to a station, load the gun and raise it, getting ready to fire.

"Your stance is wrong." A voice says behind me.

I jump and turn around, lowering the gun as I do. "Do you want to get hurt?" I say, angry. You _never_ do that to someone who has a loaded gun. Then I see that it's Logan and my face instantly heats up again. I thought that he was going to the compass course. "What are you doing here?" I ask.

"John put me in the wrong group." He says. "But enough about me; let's talk about what you're doing wrong." He puts his hand on my shoulders and turns me around. "You're feet are too close together, they need to be apart just a bit more." I just nod and do as he says. He then moves closer to me and my heart starts to pound. "Now lower your shoulders…." He says, putting his hands on top of mine and guides them up. "Relax…put your hand on the trigger…" he releases his hands and steps back. "and fire." I squeeze the trigger and the gun fires. Not bad, I glanced the left shoulder. I fire a few more times before reloading and improve slightly each time; it's almost like riding a bike. Logan takes the space next to me and fires the gun, hitting around the same area almost every time. Huh, so there's more to this guy then meets the eye. We hike back to the Gate for lunch and then after a bit we hike back to finish the target practice. We take whatever gun we weren't using before the break and I find that I like the P90 better, more fire and a scope (however small it is). It starts to get dark and then Stackhouse calls for us to stop firing. We'll come back in the morning and do the compass course. I manage to make it back to Atlantis without tumbling into Logan or anyone else and am so tired that I just fall into bed without turning on the lights or even changing into my nightclothes.

A/N: Since today's the 200th episode of SG I felt like celebrating by posting two chapters. I really do have a PowerPuff Girls watch and still use it, I met my ex-boyfriend by tripping onto him, and my uncle really is an ex-Chicago cop. Casablanca is one of my favorite classic movies and I have to admit that I have a that type of dream about Carson. I can't help it, he's just soooooooo cute. I'm hopeless. According to 'Retribution!' Techie really did do a rendition of 'Sweet Transvestite' in the middle of a department store as well as getting a standing ovation from the snack bar. And after talking with her, I have to assume that that really did happen. Oh, and I do still watch cartoons on Saturday morning. (Fairly OddParents Rock!) Review at your leasure. Lydia belongs to BiteMeTechie and everything else except Max belongs to the people who own SGA.


	6. SING

It's the last day of boot camp and so far I haven't made a fool out of myself (well other than the whole 'falling onto Logan' incident). For the 'Hide and Seek' I got paired with Dr. Jillian Benassi from the biology staff. We had a nice time, only got lost twice (that was because I had the map turned upside down) and were one of the five teams who managed to evade the "Wraith" (who were really Sgt.'s in masks) John had stalking the teams. Here's how the Pegasus Galaxy's version of military hide and seek works; All us newb's were sorted into pairs and then were given a map and a compass. The object was to get to "base" (which was really just a secondary building) and not to get caught. Jillian and I learned after it was over that if you got caught by one of the "Wraith" you were "dead". So it was like a cross between and an extreme version of 'Hide and Seek' and 'Ghost in the Graveyard'. I have to tell you that it wasn't easy evading them; there were a few times where they almost caught us.

Today we're staying on Atlantis and be in a few of the exercise rooms. From what Lydia told me, we're gonna learn a few self-defense moves. We meet in the Gate room again and John divides us into groups again, and tells us who we're gonna train with and where we're gonna be. And Logan gets put in my group. Again. At least we won't have to talk to each other. I hope. I'm still not over the embarrassment of the whole tumbling incident. Since the group is about half guys half girls there a two instructors, Laura Cadman and a rather Rastafarian-looking guy named Ronon Dex. Once we're in the room we start right away and I "manage" to end up on the other side of the group, away from Logan. If I can just get through this last day without doing anything stupid I figure that I'll live this entire thing down and then I won't have to see Logan again. Laura teaches "us girls" SING; Solar plexus, Instep, Nose, Groin and some other moves. Then Ronon teaches us a few other moves, these are a bit more involved and I wonder how the hell we're supposed to remember these when we're being attacked. Just give me a baseball bat or a gun and I'm good to go. That takes up the morning and around 1pm we break for lunch. Logan tries to catch me, but before I have a chance to politely run away Elizabeth spots me and calls me over. I gladly go over to where she is and don't even care that she has some administrative stuff to take care of. The rest of the hour passes quickly and we're back in the room, this time we're gonna practice what we learned before the break. I get paired with someone other than Logan so I'm starting to think that there is a God out there and I was just having a bad day. The practice goes well, we remember not to actually hit each other and I think I'm starting to get the hang of some of the moves that Ronon taught us. But then we switch partners and Laura decides to pair me with Logan. I resist the urge to hit myself and impersonate Homer Simpson and practice starts up again.

"You've been avoiding me." Logan says as he wraps his arm around my neck.

"No I haven't." I manage to say before grabbing his arm and elbowing him in the solar plexus. Enough for him to let go but not hard enough to actually hurt him.

"Yes you have, don't deny it."

"Whatever." I turn around looking for Laura. I have a question about a move, but she's busy with another group. Suddenly I feel hands grab me and I jump. I twist around and remember SING. Except in my case, its 'skip S-I-N. Go directly to G. Do not collect $200'. While I'm doing this my eyes are looking at the shoulders and only when I connect do I finally look up and see that I had just kneed Logan. My face goes from slightly pale to beet red in five seconds flat. I think that's a new record. His eyes go wide and he falls to his knees holding the area I had just hit. By this time everyone has stopped whatever it was they had been doing and are looking at us. Laura calls for Carson and he enters asking what happened. I just turn red even more and try to say what I had done, but Logan beats me to it.

"Just a little training accident." He squeaks out.

Carson just takes one look at the position Logan is in and by the look on his face quickly figures out what had happened. He helps Logan stand and we all notice that he couldn't lose the slightly bent position. I hear myself stammer out how sorry I am and that I really didn't mean to do it, but he just waves me silent and says, "That's ok, I wasn't planning on having kids anyways." Oh God, I broke him. I flinch at the comment and Carson tries to suppress a smile, as does everyone else. Except me.

"Can you walk or should I call for a gurney?" Carson asks Logan.

"I can walk." He says his voice still slightly higher than it had been when I first met him.

Carson shrugs and they leave with Carson supporting Logan. It's so quite as they leave you could hear a pin drop. Come to think of it, a pin did drop and everyone heard it. And they're staring at me. Floor? Please feel free to open up and swallow me any time now. Wraith? Please choose this moment to attack again and feed off of me first. After the door closes behind them, Laura plasters on a smile and says, "I think that we're done here. Make sure to sign in with Col. Sheppard so we can check your name off." I start edging towards the door when she starts talking and the second she finishes I all but run out of the room. Of all the things to do…God, what's wrong with me?

A/N: Here's the second chapter of todays '200' celebration. I got the SING thing from Miss Congeneality. Funny movie, people should watch it. Don't own anything except Max. Review at your prefrence.


	7. Poker Night

"I see your five and raise ten." I say tossing in my chips.

"To rich for me. I fold."

"Me to."

"I'm broke."

I look at Alex and arch an eyebrow saying, "Well?"

She looks at me for a second, then down at her cards. Me then her cards again. "I see your ten and raise ten more."

She must have something good. But I might have better. I throw in a chip and lay down my cards, three aces and two kings. "Full house."

Alex looks at me for a second and then lays her cards down. "Four of a kind." She says. Four kings and a queen. Damn. Now I'm down 50 bucks. And I had been doing so well until then. It's ladies poker night and my first one. Along with me and Alex, there's Lydia, Laura, Elizabeth, Katie Brown, Kate Hightmeyer, Andera Brio, Melissa Finerty, and Asha Simpson. It's also three days after 'the kneeing' and I still redden at the mere mention of Logan's name or training. From what I've been hearing there hasn't been this much talk about something since Rodney McKay kissed Carson. That's one thing I just _don't_ want to know the details about.

"What'll it be?" Alex asks, shuffling the deck of cards.

"What about five card draw, three's wild?" Asha suggests.

"Nah, we already did that." Melissa says. "Why don't we do something to liven it up a bit? One card each, highest has to tell about the strangest place they got hit on."

Hmm, sounds interesting. "Sounds fun to me." I say. The other girls agree and Alex deals out the first card to Asha which is a two of spades. Lucky. The next cards are a three of hearts, king of cloves, queen of diamonds, five of spades, ten of hearts, and a three of cloves to Melissa, Katie, Kate, Andera and Lydia (in that order). So Katie and Kate are still in and that leaves me, Laura, Elizabeth and Alex. This should be interesting. Laura gets a five of diamonds, I end up with a queen of hearts, and Elizabeth gets an ace of hearts. Alex deals herself a king of diamonds, but it was pointless because we all knew that Elizabeth has gotten the highest card.

"So, Dr. Weir, where was the strangest place someone hit on you?" Melissa asks, since she was the one to suggest it.

"Would you believe that it was when I was negotiating for the UN?" she says.

"Really?" I ask. Suddenly my pick up at a charity drive seemed rather lame in comparison.

She nods her head and smiles. "That was before I started teaching at Georgetown and a US delegate got a little "grabby" with me."

"Who?" Asha asks, asking the question that we were all dying to know the answer to.

"Senator Raymond." We all nod our heads in understanding. We all knew who he was, a number of years back he had made the media with corruption as well as sexual harassment charges. Well, hey; now we knew that the harassment charges weren't so bogus after all.

"Ok, how about whoever gets the lowest card has to tell us their most embarrassing moment?" Lydia says, looking directly at me while saying it. Everyone, except me, agrees; the cards are gathered up, shuffled, and dealt. While this is happening, I pray to the author she'll spare me the embarrassment; but she must have missed that call and I end up with a two of hearts while everyone ends up with a five or higher. Everyone looks at me expectantly, waiting for me to speak. "Is this really necessary?" I ask, my face already starting to heat up. "I think that you all know my most embarrassing moment."

"We know of one, there might be more." Asha says, grinning.

I groan and flop my head into my folded arms. You know how you sometimes wish that you could blend into the wall? Well, I've wished for that certain power since I tumbled into Logan and am still waiting for it to kick in. Hey, I know; maybe I could ask Jillian if she could come up with some new gene that would give me mutant powers, like in X-Men. I could be 'Invisagirl' or 'chamelonlady'. Ok, so the name needs work, but the idea's still good.

"C'mon. Spill." I hear someone, Andera I think, say.

Might as well get it over with. "Think about what happened three days ago." I say, my voice muffled by my arms. "That's my most embarrassing moment."

"So you really did knee him?" Kate Brown asks.

"Yes." I say raising my head. "Yes, I kneed the same guy in the _cahonas_ that I knocked into while coming out of the Gate."

Everyone gives each other knowing glances but I'm left out of the loop. "What?" I ask.

"Nothing." Alex says in a 'we know something you don't' tone of voice.

"_What?_ Tell me."

"It's just that you seem to become extremely accident prone whenever you're around him."

"And…" I say, drawing a blank as to where this is going.

"Well, you know what that usually means."

I'm silent for a few seconds, until everything clicks. "You all think that I like him?" I say. They all nod their agreement. I don't know where to begin. Oh I know; maybe with the fact that I already have a boyfriend! I roll my eyes and say, "Please. I hardly know the man. _And_ I have a boyfriend back on Earth, and we're very happy, thank you very much."

They all suddenly find the green felt table very interesting and I realize that maybe I had protested just a bit too forcefully. Damn you, Bartlett. You just had to come up with this to create a subplot didn't you?

"Are we gonna just sit here in silence or play?" Kate asks.

"Play." Asha says, taking the cards from Alex and shuffling them. "What'll it be? Seven card stud or strip poker?"

"Strip." We all say at the same time and laugh.

"Ok no skins; tops, bottoms, socks, shoes, and any jewelry you happen to be wearing." Asha says as she deals. Before we can begin though, Elizabeth holds up a hand and taps on her headset.

"Major, could you please turn off the camera in Dr. Simpson's quarters?" she says. She sighs and says, "Yes I know that you need Bates' authorization but I am the higher authority here….Thank you." Snickering, we all imagine the crest fallen looks on the men pulling security duty. After making sure the light was no longer blinking, we start the bets.

A/N: Sorry for the long time in between updates, life's gotten really busy all of a sudden; I'm still upset over the recent SG news, school start the other day, work's been crazy, family stuff's reared it's ugly head, and I've been busy getting ready for the Chicago SG convention (which starts tomorrow!) -does happy dance- I can't wait to go! I even got my hair cut for the occasion and I'm dressing up. Yea, I know I'm showing my nerdiness by dresssing up at the con, but I see it as the only other time I can wear my costume when it's not Halloween and not look like a weirdo. I realized that I never said who got the bonus points for guessing the song/band from two chapters ago, so here it is: Nenya won. Don't know what she's gonna do with them -lightbulb goes off over Bartlett's head- hey I know! I could have an informal "contest" by putting pop culture refrences in the chapters and award points to whoever guesses the refrences correctly. And then at the end of the story whoever has the most will get a cameo in my next story. -crickets chirping- Well, it's just an idea. Anyhoo, now it's time for all the credits -cracks fingers- ok, here we go; Lydia belongs to BiteMeTechie, Alex belongs to Reefgirl, I own Max, and everything else beongs to MGM/Cooper-Wright. There, that wasn't so bad was it? I made up names for Brio and Simpson because they haven't mentioned them by first name on the show. I'll try to post another chapter tomorrow before I go to the con for the weekend. Ok, enough of the novel that is my Author's Note, Reveiw at you leasure.


	8. A Strange Late Night Conversation

It's eleven at night and my caffeine buzz wore off about five hours ago. We just finished a few minutes ago and made promises to give each other the recipes from grandma or the phone number to that cute single guy we know. I'm the only one in the hallway and I can't help but replay the conversation we had before the strip poker (which I lost every hand. I'm just glad we got our clothes back). Sure Logan's cute, but I have Dave and we're happy together. We both love kids and want some when we're older; we both like sports and on a Sunday you could find us on the couch of my apartment watching a game and arguing who the better team is. I can talk to him about almost anything and we both love the finer things in life; opera, classical music, theatre, concerts. But we can also go to Ground Zero, Lollapalooza, or a rock concert and party all night with our friends. And we have our differences. He's a neat freak and I'm a slob, I like sci-fi and he likes reality, he's an only child and I'm the oldest of three, he's a Taurus and I'm a Libra, I can sing and play guitar and he can't carry a tune in a bucket, his parents are divorced and mine are still together. We've been together almost three years now and I was sure that he was going to ask me to move in with him when I took the Atlantis position. I know that it's gonna be rough with me in a different galaxy in constant danger (although he doesn't know that), but since when is life a cake walk? I round the corner and head down towards the hallway that leads towards my door thinking about those things.

"I'm surprised to see you up this late." I hear a voice say from behind me.

Hey, I know that voice. It's….oh God, it's Logan. I'm sure that I'm blushing right now. I just realized that I tend to do a lot of that around him. Maybe it's because I keep making an ass out of myself. It's like I have some permanent 'open mouth trip over foot and fall down' syndrome. I stop and turn around forcing a smile on my face. He's the_ last_ person I want to see at the moment. Right now I just want Ms. Face to meet Mr. Pillow. "I could say the same for you." I reply. Hey look at that, my mind actually works how I want it to when sleep deprived! Maybe I should stay up for three days straight and test this new theory of mine. Nah, I'll just look like a zombie and feel like one as well.

"I was working. What's your excuse?" He asks, pushing up his glasses onto the bridge of his nose.

"Poker." I reply.

"I see." He says, smiling. I fail to see what's so funny. "Night." He says, walking past me. Well that was strange. I just watch him walk down the hallway and turn the corner and then head to my room. I get the feeling that there's more to Logan than meets the eye. I press the middle crystal (Carson's shot didn't work for me) and enter. That's when it hits me; school starts in two days. And I have the classroom not even half decorated. Crap. All thoughts of sleep forgotten, I go back into the hallway and head for the classroom. If I want things to be ready I need to focus and work like I'm working on my Masters; sleep and everything else takes a backseat. Entering the room, I turn on my laptop (mine, not the one that was given to me when I arrived) and open up my music player. I need something loud, something with a good beat, something that'll keep me going. After searching my playlists I find what I'm looking for and hit play. _Hey Miss Murder can I? Hey Miss Murder can I? Make beauty stay if I, Take my life? Whoa-oh-ohh With just a look they shook And heavens bowed before him. Simply a look can break your heart. The stars that pierce the sky; He left them all behind. We're left to wonder why He left us all behind…_

I sway my hips a little as the music plays (loud enough to keep me awake but not so loud everyone in Atlantis can hear it…I think) and make my way over to my desk, sit down and pull out my lesson books. I start to go over what I'll be covering the first day of class. A piece of paper falls to the floor and I pick it up. It's the class list, a short one at that. There are six kids in Atlantis; only one of them is old enough for kindergarten, the rest are pre-school age or a year younger. I look at the list of names; Stuart Beckett (Carson has a son? Maybe he's a single father. If so then there's still hope.), Kelly and Patrick McKay, Jason and Jamie Sheppard, and Maria Lorne. I'll go over the lesson plans later; right now I need to finish decorating the room. _Hey Miss Murder can I? Hey Miss Murder can I? Make beauty stay if I, Take my life? Whoa-oh-ohh._

_If you think that a kiss is all in the lips C'mon, you got it all wrong, man And if you think that our dance was all in the hips Oh well, then do the twist…_

I grin when I hear the first notes of the song; it's been ages since I've heard it. I mouth along with the vocals and even dance along to the music as I set up the room. It's not like anyone's going to see me acting like I'm at a concert. After John walked in on me, I've started locking the door after I enter; don't want anyone to surprise me. I think that I've had enough surprises since I've been here. I told Lydia what happened that day and she just laughed. Honestly, I don't see what's so funny about the whole thing; it happened to her and _she_ was playing 'Feed My Frankenstein' by Alice Cooper. Somehow I think that's more embarrassing.

_If you think holding hands is all in the fingers Grab hold of the soul where the memory lingers and Make sure to never do it with the singer 'Cause he'll tell everyone in the world What he was thinking about the girl Ya, what he's thinking about the girl, oh…_

A/N: I'm Baaaaaaaaaaack! The convention was great. I got to run into Cliff Simon and Beau Bridges in the hotel and I got a _really_ nice picture of Michael Shanks' backside. -fangirl squee- You can read about it on my SG LJ at http backslash backslash sgteam14283 dot livejournal dot com OR you can just click on the link on my profile. I refrence BiteMeTechie's story 'Retribution'. Go read it, it's spit-take funny. I really do have a wide range of taste in music and I'm a HUGE Packer's fan. -go cheeseheads!- Ground Zero is a club in the Chicagoland area, and Lollapalooza is a huge three day music concert in Grant Park in Chicago in August. Maria belongs to Reefgirl, Lyida belongs to BiteMeTechie, I own Max, Kelly, Patrick, Stuart, Jason, and Jamie, and Logan Cale belongs to James Cameron. The rest belongs to MGM and the Stargate Franchise. Ten bonus points to whoever can name the songs and bands that sing them. Please Review, it makes me so happy to see all those in my mailbox when I log on.


	9. Can't Sleep and Late!

I shift for the thousandth time and glance at the clock; 2:15am. Damn, only two minutes have passed since the last time I've looked. And I'm still wide awake. I roll onto my back and stare at the dark ceiling. I've tried everything I could think of; classical music softly playing, yoga, relaxation techniques but none of them have helped. I think I know the reason why I'm an insomniac tonight; school starts tomorrow, or rather today. I guess that I'm afraid that I'm going to fail as a teacher and be sent back to Earth the next time the Daedalus comes back. I don't want that; I want to be here. I wouldn't have taken the position if I didn't have some sense of adventure. I've never been "officially" diagnosed as an insomniac, but I've always had trouble falling asleep. It's like my body doesn't know when to shut down and get the rest it needs. I get up and turn on my laptop and start writing to mom and pop. I figure since I'm up I might as well do something. But that only holds my attention for a bit and I end up saving the letter and turning off my computer. Sighing, I get up and grab my pillows and covers. I head on out to the couch, set my stuff down on the floor, and head back into the bedroom to grab my alarm. It wouldn't be good if I overslept on the first day of class. Yea, that would make a great impression to all the parents. Setting the clock on the glass table, I quickly make up the couch and sink into it. With a sigh I relax, close my eyes, and try to drift off…but sleep doesn't come. I toss and turn for another half hour until I half-sigh half-yell in frustration as I get up and slip into a pair of pj pants and slippers. I grab my pillow and cover and open the door that leads to the small balcony. I step out and breathe in the salt air, and find it a bit more chilly that I had originally thought. I duck back inside and grab my 'Girls Kick Ass. It says so on a T-shirt.' hoodie and head back outside putting it on as I do. Sitting down on the metal balcony, I scootch towards the wall, place the pillow on my back, and wrap the cover around me. I close my eyes and listen to the waves gently braking against Atlantis.

BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

I open my eyes and realize that I'm still outside on the balcony and the blaring is coming from my alarm inside. I stand and groan as I do; I'm stiff and sore. Sleeping against a wall will do that to you. I pad back inside, holding my pillow in one hand and trying not to trip over my cover (which is still wrapped around me). I turn off the alarm and pick up the clock to see what time it is. It's 7:15am. I blink at the clock for a few seconds, trying to confirm that it's actually the right time. It is. Class starts at 8am. It takes a minute for my still-sleeping brain to register that fact and when I do, it's like someone has just given me a shot of adrenaline. I drop the pillow and cover and run towards the bathroom, tearing off my clothes as I do. I turn on the water and jump in; I don't have time to wait for it to heat up and take what must be the fastest shower since I was late for my graduation. I quickly towel off and rush to my dresser with my towel around me. I don't look at what I pick out for lingerie, not enough time for that. I pull out a black t-shirt and shorts and put those on under my Atlantis overalls. Might as well look official the first day. Well that and I don't have time to pick out anything else. I whip on socks and comfy shoes. Now for my hair, which is still soaked. As I turn on the dryer, I can hear my mom's voice in my head telling me that I should have gotten that hair cut before I left; it would have taken less time to dry. I tell that voice to shut up and will the dryer to go faster. A glance at my watch tells me that it's now 7:35am. Damn, less than half and hour. I turn off the dryer and brush out my hair. It's half dry half wet. I decide to forego wearing my hair down and pull it into a loose braid. Thank goodness I had the foresight to get my teaching stuff together the night before so all I need to do is sling my backpack on and pick up the books. No time for an actual breakfast, not if I want to be on time. I root around in my stash of junk food to see if there's something halfway decent in there and I find some 'Nutrigrain' bars. Hey look at that, I actually did pack something healthy. I grab two and head towards the classroom. I glance at my watch and see that I wasted five minutes by looking for those bars. Damn it, I'm gonna have to use the transporter if I don't want to be late. I suck it up and enter one of those damn things anyway. In a flash I exit the transporter and head down the hallway at a run. Let me tell you, it's not easy to run with your hands full of books and papers. And strangely enough, no one gives me a second glance as I dart down the hallway. I guess that they've been here long enough that someone running down a hallway is normal. Kind of like if you've lived in California long enough and you see someone running around in spandex, tights, and a cape you think nothing of it. Almost there, I just have to round one more corner and the room's halfway down the hall. I steal a glance at my watch and see that I have ten minutes before they're supposed to arrive. But I don't slow down, I want to get there with enough time for me to catch my breath and eat. Don't want to pass out on the first day of class; we'll save that for the last day of the term. I turn the last corner and run smack into somebody.

"Oof!"

We both go down and the books and papers fly out of my arms and go everywhere. Great. That's just great. Now I'll get there when everyone else does, so much for a good first impression. "Sorry." I say, getting to my knees and starting to collect my papers.

"That's ok. You seem to have a habit of running into me." I hear the person I ran into say. I pause when I realize that the voice belongs to Logan. Oh God. The girls are going to have a field day with this one. I don't say anything and start to collect my stuff again.

"Here let me help." He says, moving closer towards me.

"It's ok, I got it." I manage to say, willing myself to focus on gathering all my stuff and not on how cute he looks today.

"No really. Let me help." Logan says, gathering up some farther scattered papers. Our hands accidentally touch as we reach for the same book and I snatch mine back like I had just touched a hot stove. I stand with most of my stuff, as does Logan. He has the rest. He hands them out to me and I take them. "Thanks." I say.

"First day of class?" he asks.

"Uh, yea. Listen it's, uh, been interesting and all but, uh, I, uh, um-" I say, suddenly at a loss for words. Agh! What the hell is happening? Now's not the time for me to go all 'high school crush'. My eyes drift down to my watch and I see that I have less then 5 minutes before everyone shows up. That snaps me back to reality. "I'm really sorry for running into you, it's one of those mornings, but I have to go. You know the whole teaching thing." I say, starting to back away from Logan. Oh sure, now I can form a coherent sentence.

"Yea. Listen can I have lunch with you and Dr. Winter?" he asks.

"Why?"

Logan shrugs and says, "You two seem to be having the most fun out of everyone there."

3 minutes and 30 seconds. I so do not have time for this. "Yea, sure. Whatever." I say turning around as I do. I don't care, it's not like he's ever gonna actually join us. Come to think of it, I'll be surrounded by kids all day so there won't be time for me and Lydia to talk, much less have lunch together anymore. Oh well, we'll burn that bridge when we come to it.

A/N: So begins Max's first day of teaching. Monday and Tuesday I overslept and missed my first classes. I'm starting to imitate what I've written, and that scares me. And I really do have issues trying to fall asleep (sometimes music helps and sometimes it doesn't.) but have never really been given meds or diagnosed for sleep apena or insomnia. Nenya and nwfairy get five points each for getting one of the songs (Miss Murder by AFI) but not the other one, so Nenya had 10 bonus points and nwfairy has 5. The other one's still up for grabs. I'm on a high at the moment because nwfairy read my 'Art of Being' story and said that it gave her plot bunnies! -grin- I'm a Muse to someone -happy dance- ! Anyhoo, Commander Bun-Bun has attacked me with a number of stories so I'm working on those, working, going to school, continueing this one and another Atlantis story so be forgiving if updates are far inbetween each other. I responded to Techie's challenge on Lenny's favorite movie but want to run it past her before posting it, so look for it. I own Max, but (sadly) don't own Logan or Lydia. They belong to BiteMeTechie and James Cameron (not in that order though). Review if the need arises.


	10. Class in the Morning

I make it with two minutes to spare. I drop the messy pile of books and papers onto my desk and take off my backpack and drop it with a 'thump'. I open one of the 'Nutrigrain' bars and eat it. I then take a deep breath and psych myself for the start of class. I sit down and had just pulled out my lesson book when I hear the door open. Looking up I see that it's Elizabeth, the stocky guy I've seen her around with, and two kids. Hmm, I wonder what Elizabeth wants. Maybe she wants to see how things are going.

I smile, stand, and make my way towards them saying, "Hey."

"Are we on time?" Elizabeth asks.

I nod my head and say, "You're actually the first ones." I've reached them by this time and I kneel so I'm eye level with the two kids. "Hi, my name's Max. What's yours?" They don't answer and cling to the guy, hiding their faces. Aw, that's so cute. They're so adorable, but what kids aren't? I stand and hold out a hand to the guy. "Maxine Wainwright."

"Rodney McKay." He says. So this is the guy Lydia wants to kill. Hmmm, he doesn't seem to be the egotistical self-serving bastard that Lydia has led me to believe he was. "And these two," he says, looking down at the two kids who were still clinging to his legs "are Patrick and Kelly." Patrick and Kelly peek an eye out and I can't help but smile. Patrick, the older of the two, defiantly takes after Rodney; the short brown hair, slightly stocky build, and the nose are dead giveaways, but Kelly doesn't. Her eyes are a greenish tint, she's much trimmer than Rodney and Patrick, and her hair is more of a dirty blond. She must take after the mother, whoever she is. "Hi Kelly, Patrick." I say. They still don't say anything, and they're still clinging to Rodney but they're not hiding their eyes anymore. I'd say that's progress.

"Do you guys want to start playing while the grownups talk?" I ask. They nod their heads and look up at Rodney for permission. He smiles and nods his head. Kelly and Patrick then go running into the room and over to where the toys are. I can't help but smile; they can be so cute at that age. "I hope that I meet Mrs. McKay soon."

"You already have." Elizabeth says, moving closer to Rodney.

Did I just-Crap I did. I can feel my cheeks heat up. "I didn't-the name-oh boy." I stammer out.

Elizabeth just smiles and says, "That's ok, I kept my maiden name as well as taking Rodney's."

I feel slightly better, but not a whole lot. "Well it was nice meeting you, Dr. McKay." I say, smiling.

"Uh-huh. Can we go Elizabeth? Who knows what Winter and the others have managed to mess up without me there." Rodney says, ignoring me completely. Ah, so that's what Lydia was talking about.

Elizabeth just gives me a look and says, "Yes we can go." They turn to leave and as they do the door opens again and in come Carson with Laura and a boy. Dang it, Carson's married. There goes my dream of becoming 'Mrs. Dreamy Scottish Doctor'. Oh, well as they say there are plenty of fish in the sea.

"Carson." Rodney says in a strained voice. "Laura."

"McKay." Carson replies in the same tone. Laura doesn't reply; she just narrows her eyes at Rodney and glares. They all glare at each other for a few seconds until Elizabeth gently pushes Rodney out of the room. Huh, that was weird. I'm gonna have to ask Alex for the dish on what happened between them. I smile and say, "Hi, I'm Max. How are you?"

"Fine." He says in a small voice and stares at me with his big blue eyes. He clings to Laura and I can't help but melt a bit. He takes after Carson with those eyes of his and I can see a bit of Laura in him; the firm chin and blonde hair, there's also something about him that seems familiar to me but I can't put my finger on it.

"That's good. Why don't you go set you stuff down and we'll get started soon, ok?" I say.

He just clings tighter to Laura and looks like he's gonna cry. "I don't wanna." He says, already starting to sniffle a bit.

Carson kneels so he's eye level with Stuart while Laura detaches him from her leg and then does the same.

"It's gonna be alright, son. We'll pick you up at the end of the day like we talked about last night, alright?" Carson says.

"Daddy's right, Stuart." Laura says, smoothing down Stuart's ruffled hair. "You'll be fine with Max. And we'll do something fun on the weekend, ok?"

"Ok." Stuart says, the 'I'm-gonna-cry' look gone.

"That's my boy." Laura says, hugging him.

Carson hugs Stuart as well saying, "I want you to listen to Max and behave. Understood?" Stuart nods his head and Carson smiles. "Good. Now off wit' ye."

Stuart then walks farther into the room and I smile. The door opens again and John with a boy and girl and a women. "Hey Max." John says flashing me a smile. "This is Teyla," he says indicating to the women. "and this is Jason and Jamie." He says ruffling Jason's hair.

"Daaaaaaaaad stop. You're messing it up." Jason says, ducking away from John's hand and putting a protective hand over his already mussed hair.

I laugh. "Nice to meet you." I say to Teyla. She's around my height and has a 'Xena; Warrior Princess' look. In the 'I can kill you with my pinkie' way.

She smiles and says, "It is nice to meet you as well." She then turns to John and says, "Should we not leave now? We have that meeting with Elizabeth."

John sighs and says, "Yea, I guess we should." Kneeling, he looks Jason in the eye and says, "Alright kiddo, we're gonna leave now. I want to you to listen to Max and behave. Got it?"

"What about Jamie? Don't you have to tell her to behave?" Jason asks.

"She doesn't have to be told. You do." John says.

I just smile. Yup, definitely John's son. This should be interesting.

"Now go and play nice with your sister and the others." They then leave and it's just the three of us standing there. Jason smiles and joins Patrick who is by the blocks. But Jamie just stands there, tears welling in her eyes. Before she can get to full blown out crying, I kneel and say, "Do you like to play with dolls, Jamie?" She nods her head and I smile saying, "Well that's good because I happen to have some. You want to see them?"

"Yes." Jamie says in a teary voice.

"Can I show them to you?" I ask standing and hold out a hand. After a moment's hesitation she takes it and I lead her over to where the Barbie dolls are. She sees them and it doesn't take long until she's happily playing with them. I smile as I watch her play. Sweet, score one for me. I gaze across the room, mentally taking roll when I realize that we're one little person short. I move to activate my headset to contact Major Lorne when, as if on cue, the door opens and he comes in holding (who I guess to be) Maria. "Sorry we're late." He says out of breath. "We had a hard time getting up this morning."

I grin. I've babysat my cousins enough to know how hard it is to get them up during the school week. "That's alright." I say, noticing that he's by himself. "Didn't your wife want to come and meet me?" I ask.

"Don't have one. Just me and Maria." Lorne says.

Whoops. That's three strikes. "Sorry, Major I didn't know." I apologize. What's up with me today? Usually I'm so good at figuring out who is married and who isn't.

"That's ok. And please call me Marc." He says, setting Maria down. She instantly gravitates towards his leg and won't let go. Ooo, we have a daddy's girl. And a clingy one at that.

He gives me a look and says, "She has a hard time with people she doesn't know." Finally prying her off of his leg, he kneels down and says, "Sweetie, this is Max. She's gonna look after you while Daddy works ok?" Maria looks at me, then back at Marc, and moves towards him. He sighs and says, "It'll be alright, sweetheart. I'll be back at the end of the day to pick you up, alright?" She just shakes her head no.

"Maria, you know Jamie right?" I ask, hoping to get her attention onto something other than Marc leaving her with someone she's never met before. Maria just looks at me with those big brown eyes of hers and Marc smiles.

"Sure you do, right sweetie?" he says. She nods her head, still not letting go of him.

I move closer like I have some big secret and say, "You see her playing with the dolls?" Another nod and I continue, "Well, I think that she might like someone to play with. You want to play with the dolls and Jamie?" She slowly nods her head. I smile and hold out a hand. "Then why don't you take my hand and we'll go over to her?" Maria looks at Marc and hugs him tighter.

"It's alright honey." He says, smiling. "Remember how I said that I would keep you safe?" Maria nods her head and he continues. "Well, Max is going to make sure you're safe as well while I work." That seems to reassure her, but she still won't let go. "I'll pick you up as soon as I can. I promise." Maria seems to think it over, then slowly lets go of Marc and reaches out for my hand. I take it and we head over to where Jamie is. I cast glance over my shoulder as we do and see Marc's retreating figure. The man has a nice ass. Agh! Was I just checking out a single father? So not the time for checking out guys, no matter how cute and single they are. We reach Jamie and she looks up. "Jamie, you know Maria right?"

"Yes." Comes the answer.

"Would you be willing to play with her?"

"Ok."

I smile. This has been a piece of cake so far. "Good." I kneel and say to Maria, "I'm gonna leave you two to play for a bit alright?" She nods her head and I smile. Standing I make my way over to where Stuart is. He's sitting in one of the kid sized chairs by the table, coloring. I drag a chair over to him and sit down saying, "Hey Stuart."

He looks up and says, "Hey."

"Why don't we start now, ok?" He nods his head and I smile. I ask him what he knows already and it turns out that he knows how to count to five and some letters. Now I have a jumping off point. We keep busy for the morning; I start the alphabet with him, have him do a few lessons with the letter 'a' and start writing lessons. Nothing major, just how to hold a pencil and I have him trace letters. It's gonna be a while until he can write the next great American novel, but slow and steady wins the race. The other kids are well behaved, there are only a few times where I have to go settle a disagreement (Jason and Patrick both times) or stop a bout of tears (Maria twice and Kelly once). That doesn't surprise me though, it the first day and they don't know me so they're all behaving. But once they've been around me for a bit they'll loosen up. By 10:30am I can see that the natives are getting a bit restless so I suggest that we do something fun and they like the idea. "Ok, what'll it be?" I ask, pulling out two of the board games that I brought with me. "Candyland or Operation?"

"Candyland!" Kelly shouts a big smile appearing on her face.

"Is that ok with you guys?" I ask the rest of the kids. It's split; Jason and Patrick would rather play Operation while Jamie and Stuart want to play Candyland and Maria is just content to watch. "Well since three of you want to play Candyland, that's what we'll play." I say, taking off the cover. "And we'll play Operation some other time alright?" I add, forestalling the protest that I knew was coming and we start to play. Although Jason and Patrick roll their eyes and play grudgingly, I can see that they're having a fun time. Maria's content to sit on my lap and play using my piece. That's fine with me, I already adore the girl. We play two games; Kelly winning the first one and Maria the second one. Her face lit up so much when she reached the finish line that I couldn't help but smile as well. They want to start another game but a quick look at my watch tells me that there's a half-hour until lunch so I suggest that they color for a bit. The girls want to, the boys don't. So they end up playing with the trucks while the girls color unicorns. The half-hour flies by and soon it's lunch time. Which is good because I'm starving. Elizabeth has said that she could set it up where the kitchen staff could make the lunches and deliver them to the room so we could avoid the crush of people. I thanked her for the offer but turned it down because I'm sure that they would've gone stir crazy if they had to stay in the same room all day (as would I). Well, that and I'd like to get them used to going places around Atlantis without their parents. So when I mention that it's time to eat, they jump up and make a dash for the door. "Hold it!" I call out in my best 'teacher' voice. They freeze and I say, "We're not gonna run out of here like the room's on fire." They nod and I gather them in a group. "I want you to stay near me and don't go running off, ok?" Maria stands next to me and I can tell that she wants me to carry her. I'm about to say no when she looks at me with those eyes of her and I have moment of weakness and pick her up. We then head out towards the cafeteria.

A/N: And thus ends the morning part of the first day of class. I hope that I characterized McKay alright, I got burned last time I tried to do that so I spent a while with just his little part. And I still feel that I messed it up. After thinking on it, it seems to me that he's not really the paternal (hey look at that, I used a big word!) type and would mostly leave the child-rearing to the mother (and this is assuming that he even got married). But at the same time I can also see McKay still care about his kids. As stated before this is based on my story 'Dark Secret', so this is an off-shoot of that. If you haven't read the story, don't worry I explain everything in a _much _later chapter. Maria belongs to Reefgirl and is from her story (aptly titled) 'Maria', (as you know) Lydia belongs to BiteMeTechie from the story 'Retribution', and I own Max from this story. Everything else belongs to MGM/Wright-Cooper. Tell me what you think about this chapter, I live for reviews. Really I do -cross' heart-


	11. Lunch with Logan and Dinner with Marc

We arrive without mishap and I spot a table towards the side of the room, near the windows with the words, 'Reserved for the Atlantis kindergarten'. I smile at that; Alex must have come up with that. Jason and Patrick go running towards the table nearly running into people and making them drop their trays. Maybe it's not too late to reconsider Elizabeth's proposal. Nah, we'd go stir crazy and besides they need to learn interact with each other in public places. I set Maria down in a chair and help the others get seated. I make sure that the siblings aren't sitting by each other and that there's an empty seat in the middle of the boys for me (I don't trust them). Once everyone's settled I say, "Stay here while I get lunch and behave." Implying that there would be dire consequences if they didn't and looking at the boys while I said it. They just nodded and I went off, looking back every few seconds to see if they were getting into trouble. But they weren't. Fortunately the line isn't too long and in no time it's my turn. "Hey Alex." I say, when I see her.

"Hey back doll." She says. "What'll it be?"

"Six PBJ's and a turkey sandwich."

She raises an eyebrow and says, "Hungry are we?"

I shake my head. "No, first day with the kids. You should've known since you put the sign out."

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes you did." I say. Then I see the twinkle in her eyes and realize that she's pulling my leg. I grin and say, "Funny."

"Thank you." Turning around she shouts, "Mick! Where are those frelling sandwiches?"

"Keep your shorts on, they're coming." Comes the reply.

I mentally thank Alex for not swearing in front of the kids. I heard that when she first started here you could hear her cursing halfway down the hall, but apparently she's gotten better. I think. Last week there was a big row and all I heard was that it had something involving cookies and citrus.

Turning back around Alex says, "You coming to the game tonight?"

I shrug and say, "Maybe. I've got letters to write to family and Dave."

She nods her head in that all-knowing way of hers and casually says, "Heard that you 'ran' into Logan again this morning."

I feel my cheeks heat up and resist the urge to smack my head. Word sure gets around here fast. Before I can reply Mick comes out of the back with the sandwiches and hands them to me. I could kiss him right now, damn the talk. I take the tray and say, "Talk to you later, Alex." I then head over to pick up drinks for everyone and realize that I should have brought one of the boys to help me with all the stuff. Oh well, you know what they say about hindsight. I'm standing there trying to come up with a way to get the drinks without making another trip when I hear someone say, "Hungry?"

I turn to see that it's Logan. Argh, why do I keep running into him? Figuratively and literally. I'm about to crack some smart-ass remark when I see him smiling and realize that he's joking. "Haha, funny." I deadpan. "Actually I'm trying to get drinks for all of us, but I don't have the room. And I suck at balancing trays."

"Hmmm, that does sound like a problem. What do you need?" Logan asks me.

"Six milks and an iced tea. Why?" I ask as Logan stretches out a hand, grabs three milk cartons, and puts them on his tray. I see what he's up to and quickly rearrange the stuff on my tray (duh, why didn't I think of that before?) and manage to get two cartons and a Snapple. I love the fact that we get brand names in the Pegasus Galaxy. "Here, let me take those." I say.

But Logan shakes his head and says, "Nope, I'm going to follow you with these so you don't drop the tray."

I shrug and say, "Fine." We then head on over to the table and quickly distribute the sandwiches and drinks. I then sit down between Jason and Patrick and see that Logan hasn't left. "Something wrong?" I ask.

"Nope, I was just going to take you up on your offer of lunch." He says, snagging a chair from an unoccupied table and bringing it over.

"Uh, ok. Although the conversation might be limited to who's cooler; Superman or Batman." I say as he sits down.

"Superman!" Jason says.

"Unuh, Batman." Patrick says.

Great. Look what I started. I smile and just take a bite of my sandwich.

Logan laughs and says, "Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself, Max. I hardly know you other than you seem to be extremely clumsy and have one hell of a reflex."

I glare at him and now he's the one to blush.

"Sorry." He says.

"Just make sure it doesn't happen again and for your information I was just having a bad few days." I say.

"Mmmhmm." Logan says in a tone that tells me he's not entirely convinced.

I just roll my eyes and say, "Let's see…you want to know more about me? Well, I'm the oldest of three, I've been teaching for five years, I'm a big science fiction junky, and I love kids. What about you?" I say, raising an eyebrow. "Somehow I think that there must be more to Logan Cale than cybergentics and good looks."

"So I've heard." He teases. I smile and take a sip of my Snapple. "Let's see; I'm an only child, grew up in Seattle, and don't watch that much TV."

"That's it? No parents, quirky relatives, or strange friends?" I ask. I see the sparkle in his eyes dim when I mention parents.

"They died when I was young." He says somewhat subdued.

Crap, I really did it this time. Hold on a second and let me pull my foor out of my mouth. "Listen I'm sorry-" I start to say, but he interrupts me.

"That's ok, you didn't know." Flashing a smile he says, "Enough about me, why did you come to Atlantis to teach kindergarten? I'm sure that there were jobs where you lived."

"Oh there were, but I guess that I wanted something more unusual." I say. Logan just looks at me and I add, "Well that and Dr. Jackson is a friend of mine and submitted my name for the position."

"Ah, now the real reason comes out."

"Hey in my defense I all I said was that I'd like to try something new and exciting." I say. We chat for a bit more; who we know from Colorado Springs, music, books. I enjoy talking to Logan and the kids actually behave. Well aside from the fact that Jason wouldn't eat his sandwich until I had cut the crusts off, Patrick would only eat once I had cut it into pieces, Jamie and Kelly wanted chocolate milk, and Maria had never had a PBJ before, so she picked at it until I took a bite and showed her that it was actually quite good. After everyone's finished eating and all cleaned up we head back to the room where once all the kids are playing happily I start Stuart on tracing more letters. We do that for about a half-hour and then I have him working on the alphabet again for a bit. Around 1:30 I end class for the day and around that time Kelly, Jamie and Maria are looking a bit sleepy so I construct an area where they can konk out for a bit and I can still keep an eye on them. They sleep for a good hour and a half while the boys play quietly. When they get up, I get out 'Operation' and we play a few games. Then Kelly and Jamie want to play 'Candyland' again so I pull that out as well and leave them to play it. They play happily while I work on administrative stuff, the paper work never ceases even out here, and I only have to stop a few times to break up an argument and stop a flow of tears. By the time 5:30 rolls around, the kids are getting antsy. The door opens at 5:40 and in comes Elizabeth.

"Mommy!" Kelly says, jumping up and running towards Elizabeth. She envelops Elizabeth's legs in a big hug as Elizabeth laughs.

"I take it you're ready to leave." Elizabeth says, picking Kelly up.

Kelly nods and I smile, having made my way over to them.

"Patrick time to go. How were they?" Elizabeth asks me as we wait for Patrick to come over.

"As well as expected." I say.

"That's good." She says as the door opens and Carson comes walking in.

I smile and say, "Hello, Dr. Beckett."

"Hello lass." He says giving me a smile in return. "And please call me Carson."

"If you inisist." I say turning around so he doesn't see my face turn red (I still think he's dreamy even if he's married) "Stuart your dad's here."

Stuart looks up and his face breaks into a grin when he sees Carson.

"Ready to go?" Carson asks. Stuart nods and gets up, making his way towards us. As he does the door opens again and in comes John.

"Jason, Jamie your dad's here." I call out.

"Daddy!" Jamie yells, dropping the doll she's holding and running towards John. When she reaches him, John picks her up and tosses her above his head. Jamie giggles as he does this and when he brings her down she hugs him. "How was Jason?" he asks.

"He was fine." I say. Which is true, for the most part.

"Good. Ok, kiddo's ready for some dinner?" he asks.

"Yes!" they shout. They head out and I realize that it's just Maria and me. She's made her way to me and when I look down I see that her eyes are swimming with tears. I lower so I'm eye-level with her and say, "Don't worry your dad's gonna be here soon."

She just looks at me and doesn't say anything. I pick her up and take her over to the stack of books I have are. "How about we read a story until he comes?" I say.

" 'K." She says in a soft voice. I smile and can't help but think that I'm making progress.

"What'll it be?" I ask pulling out a few books. "How about 'Spilt Milk'?" Maria shakes her head no. " 'Babar the Elephant'?" Another no. I pull out one that I know she's gonna love. "Ok, what about 'The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales'?" I get a giggle from that one and know that I've struck gold. I sit down in my chair with Maria in my lap and I begin to read, thinking that Marc'll get here before we're through. Wrong. I finish the book and he's still not here. I glance at my watch and see that its 6:10pm. Hmm, he should have been here by now. Slightly worried, I send Maria over to play with the dolls while I activate my headset and say, "Major Lorne, come in." There's a three second pause and then,

"_Lorne here._"

"Marc? It's Max." I say, the worry still there.

"_What's up?_"

"I hate to bother you, but I was wondering if everything's alright."

"_Everything's fine, why?_"

"You haven't picked up Maria yet."

"_Oh, crap._" I hear him say as realization hits. "_I'll be there as soon as I can._"

"Why don't I take Maria to the cafeteria and you can pick her up there?" I say, looking out of the window. The sun is starting to set and turning the sky brilliant colors. It reminds me of the summer I spent on South Padre Island, the sunsets there were incredible.

"_Alright. I'll meet you there._"

I walk over to Maria and she looks up at me with question in her eyes. "Daddy come?" she asks softly.

I smile, get down on my knees and say, "Not yet. Why don't we get some dinner in the cafeteria and he'll meet us there, ok?" She nods; we both get up and head on over to the cafeteria.

I set Maria down but hold onto her hand while we stand in line. Today's Wednesday so it's spaghetti night. I pick up two trays for myself and Maria and after getting drinks we head over to a table. I had just set down the trays down and was helping Maria up when someone shouts, "Hey Max!" I look around and see that it's Lydia. I wave back and she makes her way over with another women; brown hair, glasses almost stereotypical scientist look. Lydia plunks her tray down and says, "Hey there, missed you at breakfast."

"I know, I woke up late and didn't have time to stop by." I say, holding out a hand to Lydia's companion I say, "Max Wainwright."

She shakes my hand and says, "Crysta Santella. Did you really knee Logan in the-"

"Crysta!" Lydia says, cutting her off before she can finish the sentence.

Crysta looks sheepish. "Sorry, it's just that people in the bio department couldn't stop talking about it and Logan's closed mouth about the entire thing."

I shrug as we all sit down. "So you work with Logan?" I ask, cutting up Maria's spaghetti and making sure that she's got something over her shirt so she doesn't get sauce all over it.

"Yup, although I'm more actual biology and he's part of the bio tech. group." Crysta says.

"Enough talk about work, please." Lydia says, rolling her eyes.

"Bad day?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Any day in which I have to interact with McKay is a bad day." Lydia replies. "So when are we going to have a movie night? It's been awhile since the last one."

Crysta shrugs her shoulders and says, "I don't know maybe when everyone can get together. Working on the-"

"What DVD's did you bring Max?" Lydia says cutting off Crysta before she finishes the sentence.

I notice it and wonder what Crysta was going to say. Must be something they don't want people to know about. But that doesn't stop me wondering what it is. "Let me see," I say mentally going through my DVD index. "Serenity, Lone Gunman, Firefly, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Doctor Who, Torchwood, Dark Angel, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Casablanca, Queen of the Damned, Van Helsing, Chronicles of Riddick, Princess Bride. I think that's it."

"Which Doctor?" Crysta asks.

"The Ninth and Tenth."

"Which season of DA?" Lydia asks.

"Both."

"Cool. I haven't seen them in forever, but I vote for Hitchhiker's. Go for something new. What about you Crysta?"

"I haven't seen the Tenth Doctor but I'll go for Hitchhiker's as well."

"Good, it's settled then. We'll watch Hitchhiker's."

"Ok, but when?" I ask, tearing off a piece of my garlic bread.

"When what?" a voice says behind me. Maria, who had been content to play with her spaghetti and then eat it, looked up at the arrival of a new voice and broke into a grin.

"Daddy!" she said, standing and lunging towards him, arms outstretched.

"Hey kiddo-Whoa there." Marc says, grabbing Maria but holding her in outstretched arms since her hands were covered with spaghetti sauce. The three of us laugh at the sight and Marc sets Maria down and says, "Mind if I join you ladies?"

"Sure." I say, raising an eyebrow at Crysta and Lydia. They grin and nod their heads in agreement.

"Great, just let me grab a tray." He says. We watch him walk away and I can't help but check him out. Forget the fact that he's a single dad, he's hot.

"He's cute." I hear Crysta say.

"Yup." I say, turning around. "So why is he single with a kid?"

"You mean you don't know?" Lydia says.

"Nope. I didn't get files or anything like that, just names."

"The cliff notes version is basically he and McKay went offworld to a place where if you had brown hair and eyes you were considered the 'enemy' and they got thrown into prison where they found Maria. Marc fell for Maria, named her after a sister, and when they escaped they took her with them. The rest I think you know." Lydia says.

"So he's single?" I ask. Single fathers are quite sexy. It's true, they're right up there with foreign guys and movie stars.

Lydia nods her head and says, "And I thought that you were taken."

"It's possible for men and women can just be friends you know."

"Uhuh." Lydia says, giving Crysta look that says she isn't entirely convinced.

I open my mouth to utter some witty retort but Marc chooses that moment to sit down next to Maria and me so I close my mouth.

"So what were you talking about when I arrived?" Marc asks me.

"We were going to decide when to watch 'Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy'" Lydia says.

"Show or movie?" He asks, while wiping off Maria's marinara covered face.

"Movie. Didn't know you were into that kind of thing." I say.

He shrugs and says, "A bit, I liked the show better than the movie."

"So when do you think we should do it?" Lydia asks, getting up back to the question at hand.

"How about on a Thursday? That way we can not worry about having a hangover ruin our weekend." I suggest. "Well at least some of you can drink."

"Why not you?" Marc asks.

"Because I teach and look after the kids and I prefer to do it without feeling like a jackhammer is pounding away in my brain." I say. Well that and other things which I won't get into.

"So who are we gonna have besides the three of us?" Lydia asks. I look at her with bug eyes and jerk my head in Marc's direction. Fortunately he was busy with Maria so he didn't notice. "You could join us as well, Major." She adds after getting the not-so-subtle hint.

"Thanks I'd love to." He says. "What about Alex? I know she loved the movie as well."

"Ok, who else?" I say.

"I could tell Asha, Logan, and Andera about it, they might like it." Crysta says.

I nod my head and ask, "Anyone else who'd like the movie?"

"I guess Radek and Carson would get a kick out of it." Lydia says.

"Stackhouse and Laura might like it as well." Marc adds.

I nod my head and say, "How does next Thursday sound? That way it's not last minute and it'll give people time to come up with something to bring." I say. Everyone else agrees and we set the date. We chat about this and that for a bit and all too soon Lydia and Crysta leave, citing some projects that need to be checked on.

"Thanks for looking after Maria longer than the others." Marc says when it's just the two of us. "I'm usually good about those kinds of things; it's just that I got…held up with something."

The way that Lydia cut off Crysta earlier, the vagueness of the projects, and now Marc's hesitation makes me wonder what's really going on. But I push it to the back of my mind and focus on the cute single father who's sitting next to me. "No problem. She's adorable." I say, flashing him a smile. "So tell me about yourself, you seem to know what you're doing with Maria and from what I've hear you've only been together a number of months. Makes a girl wonder what it was like for you growing up."

"Well, for starters, I have five sisters and four brothers with me being the oldest. Momma needed someone to help with the others so I learned pretty quickly."

"Nine siblings? Wow, that's quite a handful." I say, astonished. And I thought my family was big. Well, not anymore. "Where'd you grow up?"

"All over. Dad was career military so we were always bouncing around from one base to another. How about you?" He asks, taking Maria into his lap.

"Chicago, although we moved to Colorado Spring before my freshman year of high school." We chat about this and that until Maria starts to fall asleep. We stand and I tell him that if he ever needs an extra hand with Maria he should give me a call. He promises that he would should the need arise and we go our separate ways. I head back to my room and spend the rest of the evening taking it easy; listening to some classical music and typing a letter to Dave. But the entire time I can't stop thinking about Logan. I sigh and wonder why I'm acting like this. I'm with Dave and it's not fair to him for me to be acting like this. I finish the letter and quickly fall asleep. I guess that I was more exhausted than I thought because the next thing I know my alarm is buzzing and it's time for day two of school to start.

A/N: And so ends Max's first day teaching. I still live in Chicago (suburb of the city to be exact) and do own most of the DVD's mentioned in this chapter (all but the first season of Dark Angel, Dr. Who, Lone Gunman, Torchwood, Casablanca, and Queen of the Damned.) and have seen all of them except for Torchwood. I think that I've actually come up with a plot for the story -gasp!- who would've thought? There's actually a point to this story! Wow, I think that I've just surprised myself here. (j/k) Maria and Alex belong to Reefgirl, Lydia belongs to BiteMeTechie, and Logan belongs to James Cameron. Everything else (besides Max) isn't mine. Who do you think who's better; Batman or Superman? go debate it amongst yourselves. Review after you finish this sentence (which is now).


	12. Letters Home

Hey Mom, Pop what's new?

Sorry for the delay in writing, things kept getting in the way of me finding time to write. The school year here has finally started and the kids are so adorable. There are twins here but they're fraternal so it's easy to tell them apart (Unlike Paul and Ed). There's a girl here named Maria who's just so adorable. She's on the quiet side but I can tell she's not going to stay that way forever. Her father is a single parent and I've got to give him props for being able to take care of Maria in place like this. I know that you guys worry about me up here in Antarctica, but don't. I'm perfectly safe, I know how to take care of myself remember? By the time I'm writing this and you get it, I'll be here for almost two months and I have to tell you the people here are really nice. They're like one big extended family and they've been really welcoming. I've made a few friends here already; Lydia Winter, Crysta Santella, and Logan Cale. Last month Thursday us three plus eight others got together and watched 'Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy'. We had a great time. Alex, the chef here, brought cookies in the shape of Marvin as well as ones that said 'Don't Panic' and were the shape of the Guide. Marcus Lorne and Andera Brio brought the beer. Don't worry, I didn't have any because I had to look after the kids the next day and didn't want a hangover (I think we went through enough of those when I was a senior right?). I tell you I found the right group of people to work with, they're all a little crazy, but with everything that's been going on they deserve to be a little wacky. Blow off a little steam. Enough about the people; let me tell you about what I do. I teach the normal five day school week and then on weekends just look after the kids. So I'm mostly surrounded by little people all day, but I see Lydia and Logan during meals (when they're not working) and run into them in the hallways. There's only one kid who's really kindergarten age so I don't have to rush teaching things, we can take our time on stuff. I really love that as I don't have nineteen more kids the same age all clamoring for my attention at the same time and I don't have to deal with the other stuff that comes with working in the public school system. The others are just a year or so shy of kindergarten so they mainly play all day which is fine with them and me. I usually have to break up an argument once or twice a day (the same for stopping a flow of tears). Four of the kids have at least one military parent and only two of them have a mom and dad who are both civilians. Now pop, before you get bent out of shape about the whole military situation just let me say that I've met the parents and they're quite nice. There's a group of girls who get together every week for some poker and gossip and I've been joining them almost every week. Dr. Weir-McKay is my "boss" (so to speak; she's the "boss" of all us civilian's here) and is nice to talk to. She has two kids, Patrick and Kelly, who are adorable. Got a question for you ma; who are the Cales? The name seems really familiar to me but I can't place it for the life of me. Logan says that he's from Seattle and he looks like he's got money up the wazoo. I figure that you'd know since you follow all that celebrity gossip. Since there are kids here, Dr. Weir decided to embrace Halloween and have people dress up while the kids go around and get candy. I have a favor to ask; I was wondering if you guys could get my Halloween costume from two years ago and send it to me. It should be at Missy's apartment. And the lightsaber should be in my sock drawer at home. I might be able to come home for Christmas, but I don't know for sure. It all depends on how things are around here. Anyways, I have to get going. Love you guys and tell Hugh and Tori that I say hi and that I miss everyone.

Maxine

Dave,

What's up big guy? I miss you so much. Haven't gotten a letter from you in a while, they must have gotten lost or something. Never trust the postal service huh? Anyways, how's everything? I know that before I left your company had a bid on some big government project, did you get it? And how's the softball team? I know that they had to fill my spot since I was leaving and I hope that you guys didn't suck to much this season. And how's our crew doing? Been hanging with them a lot? Did Theo ever get that bike he was thinking about buying? Or were you guys able to convince him that the first time he rides it he'd end up road pizza? I think that's enough of the Spanish Inquisition (which no one expected). I'll ramble on a bit about this place. It's really nice, but it has it's problems. Last night there was a blackout in my section and I was in my room at the time. Since the power for the doors comes from generators I was stuck inside my place for a good six-seven hours. It was alright at the beginning, I was able to get some stuff done that I'd been putting off but then I started to get a bit claustrophobic so I escaped to the balcony that I have. The view from is breath taking, but then it started to rain not long after I got out there so I had to go back inside. By the time power was restored I was going stir crazy and could have kissed who ever did it (but I didn't. Amazed at my self restraint? I am). I've made a few friends here; Lydia Winter, Crysta Santella, and Logan Cale. Lydia, Crysta and I have a great time together. We've started an informal 'movie night' where we choose a different movie/TV series to watch. It's become quite popular with most of the people here. I usually have lunch with Logan and run into him around the city. A month ago we got together with eight others and watched 'Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy'. We had a great time; we sang along to 'Thanks for all the fish' and had a drinking game where every time Marvin said something depressing or Arthur worried about something we had to take a shot. Let's just say that by the end of the movie a lot of us were smashed. But don't worry I wasn't. I choose to have iced tea instead. There's also a weekly poker night where some of the girls get together to play and gossip. I've joined them and have become quite good at playing (I'll have to show you when I come back for a visit). The kids here a really cute and I love being with them. There's one girl in particular who's stolen my heart. Her name is Maria and she's an orphan. Her parents were killed around here and one of the guys (Major Marc Lorne) found her and sort of adopted her. She has the deepest brown eyes that you'll ever see and is just so adorable. Kind of makes me think about what the kids I'll have later in life will look like. Anyways, since there are kids here there's gonna be trick or treating and Dr. Weir wants people to dress up for the kids. Yes I'm going to and asked mom and pop to send over my Jedi costume (I have the boots I just need everything else). Are you going to go to Katie's annual Halloween's bash? You should go; it'll be fun as always. Why don't you take Missy with you? I know that she's always available on that day and it'll be fun for the both of you. Did I say that I miss you? I know that it's hard with me being away and all but think of this as a test to see how strong our relationship is. But there's good news; I might be able to come home for Christmas. It all depends on how things are over here, so nothing's set in stone. I'll write again soon and can't wait to get your letters.

Miss you tons,

Max

A/N: I something that I thought I'd never do. I forgot to credit an OC. -collective gasp- I know, I surprised myself as well. So here it is: Crysta Santella belongs to Nenya. Now go and read all her SGA stories after this one. I thought that it would be neat to do a chapter of Max writing home, so that's why I wrote the chapter. It skips the movie night, but you get the highlights. She wouldn't be able to talk to much about Atlantis and I figured that she'd tell them that she would be in Antartica since that was where everyone was before going to Atlantis. I have a confession to make: in a previous A/N I stated that I did Techie's "Lenny's favorite movie" challenge and that I would be posting it. Well...I've thought about it and decided that it shall never see the light of day that is ff dot net. I wrote it when I was sleep deprived and feel that I totally missed the characterization that is Lenny and that she wouldn't really watch that kind of movie so I'm going to keep it on Lappy where no one can read it (well except for me). As always I don't own Lorne or Wier; they belong to the big shots at MGM/Bridge Studios. Alex and Maria belong to Reefgirl. Lydia belongs to Techie. Logan belongs to to James Cameron. I own Max, Dave, Hugh, Tori, Patrick and Kelly. And last (but I didn't forget this time) but not least of all; Crysta belongs to Nenya. Having said that, please press the little blue button and tell me what you liked about the chapter. Oh, one more thing; I do have identical twins for cousins and everyone but me can tell them apart.


	13. Jedi and Silly String

"Jason for the last time, play nice." I say, rubbing my hand against my forehead trying to suppress the headache that's starting to appear. Everyone's been antsy today. More so than normal. I think that it's because today is Halloween and they can't wait to rake in the loads of candy brought by the Deadalus on its last visit. Jason doesn't say anything and hands over the doll, I'm sorry, action figure to Kelly. Kelly sticks out her tongue and I catch that so I say, "That goes for you too Kelly." Jason looks smug and I roll my eyes and slowly count to ten backwards. Today had been one long trial. But the thought of going back to my room and changing into my Jedi costume keeps me sane. I look at my watch and see that there's only 10 minutes left. Hallelujah. Since they're playing together nicely (for the moment) I sit down, turn on my laptop (the one I got when I arrived), and start my report. Since I'm not a "necessity" (although I beg to differ) I have to submit monthly reports on the progress of my student. I've gotten used to paperwork but having to constantly defend my being here is fucking ridiculous. Would they rather have nobody here at all? Damn the IOA. I think that they'd rather ship the kids off to some government approved boarding school than have me here. They don't know that kids learn better and tend to interact more with their peers when attending a local school. It's moderately noisy in here; Kelly and Stuart are playing 'Chutes and Ladders', Jason and Patrick are playing 'Candyland', and Maria and Jamie are coloring. They (thankfully) stay that way until Elizabeth, Carson, and Teyla show up. I notice that Elizabeth's usually the one to drop and pick Kelly and Patrick up and either Laura, Carson or both of them pick up Stuart. I keep meaning to ask Alex about what happened between Rodney and the Beckett's but I forget or when I do remember she's busy. I think that I'm going to write myself a note when I get back to my room and stick it somewhere I'll notice. I notice that Marc isn't with them to pick up Maria. Again. This is the third time this week. Don't get me wrong, I love Maria to pieces but when she sees everyone leaving she starts to get all teary and I end up reassuring her that Marc's gonna be coming for her. Ten minutes pass and he's still not here so I activate my headset and call for Marc.

"_Lorne here, what's up Max?_"

"I was wondering if you wanted me to get Maria into her costume for tonight." I say, giving him a not so subtle hint as to if he's going to pick up Maria.

A pause then he says, "_If you could, that'd be great. And would you mind taking her around? I'm-_"

"tied up." I finish for him. That's usually the excuse. Either that or he just plain forgot. "Sure I don't mind."

"_Thanks._"

"No problem." I say, softly sighing. Turning off my headset, I walk over to Maria and kneel so that we're eye level with each other.

She looks up at me with those brown eyes of hers and I can't help but feel sorry for her, going through so much that she has a hard time trusting adults. But who could blame her? After all, adults did take away everything she knew and loved. I guess that if it happened to me I'd be the same way.

"How about we go get our costumes and then we can go trick-or-treating?" I say, holding out a hand. She takes it and we both stand. It's only when we're out of the door do I realize that I have no idea where Marc and Maria live. And I'm sure that Maria has no idea how to get there either. So we go back inside the room where I look up the room assignments on my computer (which I had thankfully had forgotten to turn off). It took a bit of navigation but I found it and in no time we're on our way. We get to Marc's place with little trouble and am standing in front of the door. Which isn't opening. No matter how many times I press the middle crystal. Damn Ancient Technology. While I'm standing there, trying to figure out how to open the door Maria lets go of my hand and before I can go after her, she steps in front of the door and it swishes open. Talk about embarrassing. Looking around to see if anyone saw it and after seeing that no one did we walk in and I look around. The place is nice, it looks a lot like mine with the exception of no balcony, two bedrooms, and clothes everywhere. "Alright, where's you costume?" I say, looking around. Spotting something pink and furry I know I've struck the jackpot. We walk into Maria's room and I see the costume that Marc picked out for Maria. It's a bunny costume. With ears and everything. Not what I would have picked but then again I would have picked a witch costume, so what do I know? We head over to my room and I help Maria get into her costume. Once I put it on her it's not that bad, she looks kind of cute with the ears. There's a plastic bunny nose as well but I don't put it on; I can do much better with make-up. Which I have Missy to thank for since she packed it along with my Jedi costume. I change into my costume, although it takes a bit longer because I couldn't find my boots and found them under the bed (how they got there I don't know) and somehow misplaced my lightsaber (in my underwear drawer. Again I don't know how it got there). I pull out the makeup kit and Maria eyes it warily. "There's nothing to be afraid of, it's just makeup." I say taking out some fake blood. I dab some of the fake blood on my finger and rub it around on my wrist to show her that it's not real. "And it comes off." I say, demonstrating it. She seems more willing then so I take out the eyeliner pencil; draw some whiskers, a few dots in-between the whiskers and then put daub of pink face paint on her nose. "There." I say wiping off my hands on a towel. I'm not worried about that, it'll come off in the wash...I just have to do a load tonight. I gather up all the makeup and lead her into the bathroom so she can see what it looks like. "You like it?" I ask.

Maria looks at her reflection and smiles. I'll take that as a yes. I quickly put on some mascara and take out the fake blood again and draw a line around my neck; death by decapitation. We're soon on our way to our first stop.

"Ready?" I ask as we stand in front of the door.

"Yes." She says in that quite way of hers.

Pressing the crystal I ask, "You remember what to say?" Maria nodded her head as the door opened up and I see that we stopped off at Lydia's place first. I look at her and burst out laughing. I can't help it; it's just so friggin' funny. She's dressed in a Ramones T-shirt and jeans, dyed her hair blonde, and is wearing big round framed black glasses.

"I don't see what's so funny." Lydia deadpans.

"Sorry…it….it's just…you…blonde." I manage to say in between bouts of laughter.

Lydia just glares at me and says, "Yea well at least my costume has some basis in reality unlike yours."

I stick my tongue out in mock annoyance.

Lydia rolls her eyes and says, "Oh, that's real mature."

I just smile and then realize why I'm even here in the first place. I look down to see Maria watching us with some kind of amazement. Oy, the things we just taught the kid. "Maria don't you have something to say?" I ask, hoping to get her mind off our exchange.

"Treat or trick." She says. Lydia and I both laugh at the cute mistake while Maria looks confused. I lean down to whisper the right words in her ear. She beams and then says, "Trick or treat." while holding out her jack-o-lantern pail.

Lydia smiles and reaches past the door and brings out a bowl full of candy. Taking out a handful, Lydia places it into the pail.

"Now what do you say?" I ask. Maria looks at me with confusion and I wonder what Marc's been teaching the girl. I bend down again and whisper the words to her.

"Thank you." Maria says.

"Your welcome." Lydia says. Looking at me, she asks, "Where else are you gonna go?"

I shrug and say, "Don't know. The McKay's, Beckett's, and a few other places."

"Can I tag along?"

"Sure why not." I say. "Maria, can Dr. Winter come with us?"

" 'K." she says while looking at what she got.

"Coolie. Be back in a minute." Lydia says disappearing inside. She comes back out armed with cans of silly string. I raise an eyebrow and look at her. "Just the 'trick' part of the evening." She says simply. I have an idea as to who she's going to play it on. We go down the row of doors, and by the time we're at the end of the hall Maria's gotten the hang of the whole 'Trick or Treat' thing. We hit the other side of the hall and then we stop off at the cafeteria for something to drink and Jesse is there, dressed as a go-go (or swinger as they call 'em in the UK). She's in a yellow polyester dress that ends high mid-thigh with huge black buttons, wearing calf-high black go-go boots, clunky earrings and necklace, her hair in a bouffant with the ends curled and a matching yellow hat with black piping around the rim. "What's swingin' baby?" I ask, smiling.

"The place ain't happenin'." She replies.

"I'm down with that." I say as I pick up chocolate milk and two sodas. "Come join us?"

"Love to-" She says, a loud clatter in the back breaking her off.

"What the hell is going on?" we both hear Alex yell in the back of the kitchen. We both cringe, someone's in trouble. "Jesse, get your ass in here!" we hear Alex then shout.

Jesse gives me a look and disappears into the kitchen. I'm glad I'm not part of the kitchen staff tonight. I bring the drinks over to where Lydia and Maria had sat down and sigh. My feet had been starting to hurt. Note to self; never wear heal boots when standing for the majority of the evening. We relax for a bit with and then head out again. We run into Jason and Jamie out with John as well as Kelly and Patrick out with Elizabeth. Jason is dressed up as a fighter pilot, Jamie a fairy princess, Patrick is wearing a lab coat so I assume that he's a scientist, and Kelly is dressed in a mini-Atlantis jumpsuit. They all look cute, but there's just a bit to much pink for me. Just then John and Elizabeth get called over their headsets and have to leave so offer to take the kids around.

"Are you sure?" Elizabeth asks, looking at the pack of kids all going through their bags.

"Of course. Lydia can help watch the kids." I say.

"Ok, just drop Kelly and Patrick off at our place when you're done." She says, slowing heading away from us. "Rodney's there and can watch them."

"Yea, the same for Jason and Jamie. Teyla's at our place taking it easy." John says.

"Gottcha." I say giving them the thumb's up. They then run down the hallway and I sigh. Sometimes it can be frustrating, but I won't think about it tonight. Lydia and I heard the kids down the hallway and towards the next door. We slowly make our way down the hallway and round the corner, heading towards the transporter. We all cram in and I press a place near the McKay's. From the looks on their faces and the frequent yawn it's not hard to see that they're getting worn out. We exit the small room and walk down the hallway, the kids quieter than usual. I don't blame them; they've just gotten enough candy to last them until Thanksgiving, Christmas if they stretch it. We're halfway towards the McKay's when Lydia excuses herself, saying that she has to check on one of her projects. I get the feeling that it's not a project, rather she's just setting up her trick, but I don't ask her anything. The less I know the better. So Lydia breaks off from us and so it's just me. Which is fine because they're half-way to Dreamland and not on a sugar-high so they behave. We reach the McKay's door and I hand them off to Rodney. After the door closes, we start towards the Sheppard's and halfway there I end up carrying Jamie. Once I hand them off to Teyla, I end up carrying Maria as we head towards Marc's place. We get there with little interruption and I'm trying to figure out a way of opening Marc's door without waking Maria when Marc arrives and I hand Maria off to him. She wakes slightly but quickly falls back asleep.

"Need any help?" I ask.

"Thanks but I got it." he replies, stepping near the door. It swishes open and he starts inside.

"Could I ask you something?" I ask.

He stops, turns around and says, "Sure."

"It's the third time this week that you've been late." I say.

"Yea about that; I'm sorry but things around here are…" he pauses, trying to come up with the right words without giving anything away. I can tell.

"Crazy. I know. How about I look after Maria after the others pick the kids up and that way you don't have to leave whatever it is you're doing."

Marc thinks about my offer for a few seconds then nods his head saying, "If you could I'd really appreciate it. I'd even be willing to pay you-"

"You don't have to, I want to do this otherwise I wouldn't have offered." I say, smiling.

"If you're sure." Marc says, looking at me.

"I'm sure."

He shrugs and says, "Thanks, it'll be a big help. Night."

"Night." I say walking away from them and start towards my room. I change into my Gumpy pj pants, a Garfield nightshirt that says, 'I'm not a morning person', and pull my hair into a loose ponytail. I glance at my clock on the nightstand and see that it's 9:30pm. Good, I have time to start my laundry. I pick up my dirty clothes and head down to the laundry room. There's no one there so I have all the washers and dryers to myself, something that has never happened before. I put in a load of darks and a load of whites and start the machines. It's gonna take at least a half and hour for the loads to be done so I head on over to the cafeteria for some hot tea and to maybe chat with Jesse for a bit. It's sparsely populated so I sit down with a cup of ginger peach and allow myself to relax. Jesse comes over and we start to chat about things; life back home, what we miss the most, who's the cutest here. Half way through the last topic Lydia joins us and we can't help but laugh. She's covered with neon pink and yellow silly string and I can only guess that the object of her "trick" was equally prepared. Jesse and I ask what happened and Lydia just glares at us and says that it's none of our business. That just makes us laugh even more. But through out this whole evening, no matte how fun it has been, I can't help but wonder what's going on here. Something's up that's for sure, I just don't know what.

A/N: Sorry for not posting ealier this week. I was reading this chapter, getting it ready to post when I found that I didn't like how it ended. I even considered not posting this in the first place (the jury's still out on that), but I ended up rewritting it so I was more satisfied. But I've been so busy that I was only able to finish the rewrite last night (after watching the entirety of Serenity. cheers I didn't skip the Wash dying part! I just turned down the volume and lowered my compy screen. grin) Maria and Alex belong to Reefgirl, Lydia belogns to BiteMeTechie, and I own Jesse, Max, Jason, Kelly, Jamie, Patrick, Stuart. Everything else belongs to MGM/Wright-Cooper. Tell me what you thought of this chapter.

The plot thickens! What's going on that makes Marc so late all the time? Why do John and Elizabeth keep running off together? Why does only Elizabeth pick up Kelly and Patrick? Does Max really know what's going on? What's wrong with Teyla?

All this and more to come!


	14. Repliwhat?

It's lunch time and Logan's no where to be found. He's made it habit of joining us for lunch and this is the first time he hasn't shown up. It's been nice to chat with him and to have the extra hand. But I manage to get everyone their lunch all right and we're halfway through eating when he shows up.

"Hey." He says, sitting across from me.

"Hay is for horses." I reply.

"Sorry for not joining you right away, I was-"

"Busy." I say finishing his sentence for him. Everyone around here has been busy lately; Marc has been picking up Maria later and later in the evening, the other parents look like they're constantly short of sleep, poker night keeps getting cancelled, and I haven't seen Lydia or Crysta in what feels like ages. "What's going on?" I ask, hoping to get an inkling.

"What do you mean?" Logan replies, a bit too casual for my tastes.

I just look at him and say, "You know what I mean. Everyone's walking around here like they're suddenly short on sleep and incredibly short tempered." Yesterday I walked past Rodney and another scientist and he was yelling something fierce and she looked equally pissed. Even Elizabeth has looked worn out when she's picked up Patrick and Kelly. If she's like that then I know that something must be going on. "Something's up."

"Well yea, the IOA has been stepping up the heat on us lately and I guess that it's just getting to people."

"If that was true then I'd be feeling the heat as well. I continually have to justify my presence here and so far it's stayed a high 90 instead of the 120 you say it is."

Logan opens his mouth to reply when a number of Airmen come through the doors of the cafeteria and say, "Mail Call!" Huh, the Daedalus must have arrived either late last night or early this morning. Everyone's head swivels towards the airmen and there's almost a stampede as people rush towards them and I smile. I wonder if there's anything for me this time. Last time mom had sent my costume and forgot to send everything else. Logan turns back towards me and I say, "Saved by the mail?"

He just glares at me and leaves.

I'd love to get up and join the crush of people mobbing the poor airmen but since I have the kids I can't. They're all but finished with their lunches so I get them cleaned up and we head back to the room. I set Stuart to some work and sit down. The others are playing quietly and it stays that way for an hour or so. Kelly, Maria, and Jamie had just fallen asleep when there's a chime at the door. I'm not even halfway to the door when it chimes again. Ok now I'm pissed, they're gonna wake the kids and when that happens they're not happy campers. I open the door and my mouth to yell at them when I see that it's an airman. I shut my mouth and force a smile. It's not his fault; he's just doing his job. "Yes?" I ask.

He holds out a package and says, "Mail ma'am." I take the box and he bends down to pick up another one.

"How many are there?" I ask, slightly astonished.

"Just these two ma'am." He says.

Oh, but what's in 'em? I wonder. "Just set it down here." I say, moving back a bit. He nods his head, enters, and sets the box down.

"Ma'am." He says, nodding his head and exiting the room.

"What's in them?" Jason asks.

"I don't know." I say. "They just came today." I'm slightly disappointed because there weren't any letters and the boxes had 'official use' stamped on it. But hey, it's better than nothing.

"Are you gonna open 'em?"

"_Them_. It's 'are you going to open _them_.'" I say correcting Jason's grammar. It never huts to start early teaching them.

He scowls but says, "Are you going to open them?"

"No not yet."

"When?"

"Later."

"When is it going to be later?"

"When it's not now." I can't help but smile. I'm re-enacting a classic scene from 'Spaceballs'.

"Oh." Jason says, looking crest fallen.

"Don't worry, you'll see what's in the boxes soon enough." Jason looks somewhat happier and I suggest that he go play with Patrick.

The rest of the day continues quietly and soon it's time for the kids to be picked up. Five minutes pass and no one's shown up yet. Ten minutes pass and they still haven't shown up. Just as I'm about to call Elizabeth and ask what's going on, I hear a '_Max are you there?_ _It's Elizabeth._'

"I'm here. What's up?" I ask, moving towards the balcony and talking in a soft tone. I don't want Kelly and Patrick to know that I'm talking to their mom.

"_Something's come up and we need you to look after the kids tonight._"

"Anything I should be worried about?" I ask, fishing around to find out what's been going on.

She pauses before answering and I _swear _I hear someone in the back ground say, '_Replicators._'

"_No. I'll have someone drop off the kids' overnight stuff._"

"Ok, we'll all bunk down at my place."

"_Alright._" There was a slight click telling me that Elizabeth had cut the connection and I sigh. I might not have the highest clearance out of everyone here, but what am I going to say when I tell the kids that their parents can't pick them up tonight? _Replicators?_ What the hell are Replicators? I must have gotten lost in thought because the next thing I know Jamie's pulling on my pant leg. I look down, smile, and ask, "Yes Jamie?"

She looks at me with her chocolate eyes and says, "When's mommy and daddy gonna come?"

"Yea," Jason says, looking at me. "When's dad gonna show up? I'm hungry." By this time the others are paying attention to me.

I smile at the last part, kneel down and say, "Well they're busy. You ever have a sleepover?" Jamie shakes her head no, as does everyone else.

I put on a smile and say in a fake happy voice, "Well we're gonna have one."

It's silent for a bit as the news sinks in, then the tears start. Well at least for the girls. They boys just take the news and seem truly excited about the sleepover. I quickly calm the girls by saying that we're gonna have fun; I can ask Alex if she could make us a pizza and we can watch a few movies and maybe play a few games. That seems to quiet them and they go back to working on a puzzle. I activate my headset and say, "Alex you there?"

There's a crash and cursing. Lots of cursing.

"_Yea I'm here. What do you want?_" I hear Alex snap.

I'm taken aback for a few seconds. Usually Alex isn't like that towards me, she only saves that for Rodney and a guy named Kavanaugh. "Uh, I have to look after the kids tonight and as was wondering if you could make us some pizzas." I say. There's a pause and I quickly add, "But if you're too busy we can just have whatever you're serving."

"_Sure I can make some pizzas for you guys. What'll it be?_"

"I don't know; let me ask." I say looking towards the kids. They seem like a plain cheese and pepperoni crowd to me, but you never know. "What do you guys want on your pizzas?" I ask them.

"Cheese!"

"Sausage!"

"Pepperoni!"

"Pineapples!"

_Pineapples?_ I think, raising an eyebrow. That suggestion had come from Jason, so I guess I have John to thank for that one. "How about Cheese for one and half-sausage half-pepperoni for the other?" I suggest, hoping to please everyone. They agree to that and I relay the order to Alex. "Is that alright?" I ask, still on edge from earlier.

"_Can do doll. Where do you want it delivered?_"

"You deliver?"

"_Yup. Anywhere in the Pegasus Galaxy in 30 minutes or less or it's free. So where to?_"

"How about in the lounge? I figured we can do the whole 'pizza and movie' thing."

"_Ok, they should be ready in an hour or so._"

"I thought it was 30 minutes or less."

"_You can't rush art._"

"Should I tip the delivery boy?"

"_Depends on what the tip is._"

"Alex!"

"_Sorry, couldn't resist._"

I smile and laugh a bit. Now _this_ is like the Alex I know. "Thanks Alex. You're a gem, you know that?"

"_Actually I do, but thanks for telling me. I'm sorry I snapped at you when you first called. There're a lot of things going on lately._"

"_Don't I know it._" I think while saying, "That's ok." I cut the connection and say, "The pizzas should be ready in an hour or so. What do you want to do until then?"

"Operation!"

"Play-Doh!"

"Chutes and Ladders!"

Before I can suggest something that everyone will agree on there's a chime at the door. Must be whoever with the kids' stuff. I walk over to the door and open it. It's Logan. "What are you doing here?" I ask, slightly surprised.

He holds up a number of duffel bags and says, "Got stuck with collection duty." He holds the bags out to me, looking annoyed. Like he had something more important to do. Or maybe he just hates kids. Or both. "Here, take 'em."

Gee, don't I feel so loved? I take the bags and casting a glance back to make sure the kids aren't watching, and step out into the hallway. "What's going on?" I ask in a hushed voice.

Logan gives me a confused look and says, "What do you mean?"

"Oh come on; I'm not blind. Everyone looks like they haven't slept in a month, Marc keeps picking up Maria later and later until she almost spends the night at my place. If something's going on that could put me and the children in danger than I need to know what it is so I can protect them from it."

Logan just gives me a look that tells me more than him not saying anything. So something _is_ up. And it somehow involves the Wraith. But what is it?

"Have you considered the fact that no one's told you anything maybe because there _isn't_ anything to tell you? Like I said before the IOA has been putting a lot of pressure on us to give them reason's why they should continue to give us the same amount of funding."

I glare at Logan and say, "Fine, _don't_ tell me. But when one of their kids gets killed, _you_ get to tell the parents that you couldn't be bothered to tell their teacher what was going on so she could find a way to protect them."

Logan glares at me then turns around and walks down the hallway. I watch him walk away and only after he turns the corner and disappears do I close my eyes and sigh. If I'm supposed to be a "vital member" of the expedition then why am I left out of the loop of something important? Something that could possibly result in lives being lost. Talk about trust issues. Taking a deep breath, I plaster on a smile and go back inside. "Why don't we figure out what to do before the pizza is ready and then we can drop your stuff off at my place? Sound good?" I say. They agree so I set the bags down and sit down on the floor saying, "Ok what do you want to do?" A flurry of suggestions come my way; Operation, Candyland, read 'The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales', Memory, get out the Gak and Floam. I stand, an idea suddenly coming to me and say, "How about 'Monopoly Junior?'" I dig around the board game pile looking for it. Where is it, damn it? I know that I brought it with me. Ah, there it is. It's slightly smushed but all the pieces are still there. They look at the box for a bit, then each other, and finally agree.

"Ok," I say, setting the box on a table and going over to my desk. "get your stuff and we'll head over to my place and then the lounge." They comply and are ready before me since all they have to do is pick up their bags and I have to put all my papers and laptop into my backpack. But I'm soon set and in no time we're walking down the hallways. As we do I can't help but notice how serious everyone is. And that there are a lot more soldiers around and that they're heavily armed (more so than usual). But these facts seem to be lost on the kids and that's fine with me; fewer awkward questions for me to answer. I press the crystal, the door to my room opens and we go in. Turning on the lights I tell the kids to set their stuff down by the couch and to take turns washing their hands (They've been playing with Play-Doh all day). As they do, I set my backpack down and walk back out into the entryway. I see something on the floor and notice that it's mail. Must have come from today's mail call and they didn't think to send it with the boxes. I pick the envelopes up and quickly flip through them as I walk back towards my bedroom. There are a few from Mom and Dad, a couple from Tori and Hugh, one from Missy, but none from Dave. I sigh at the lack of mail from my boyfriend. I haven't gotten a letter from him since I arrived. Oh well, he must be too busy to write. Christmas is only two months away and Elizabeth's promise of letting me go back home for the holiday is still out there, so I can catch up with Dave then. I enter the bedroom and set the mail on my nightstand. I can look at it later when the kids are asleep. They've finished washing up by now and I enter the bathroom and stop in the doorway. "What the frell?" I ask, stunned at the sight. There's water and soap everywhere, towels on the floor, on the sink, and on the rim of the tub but not on the rack like they're supposed to be. I sigh, there could only be two people, kids actually, who are capable of something like this. "Jason, Patrick," I call out. "Come here please." They do and I ask, "Did you do this?"

"No?" Jason says, giving me a smile.

Oy, the boy is so much like his father. He'll be a ladies man for sure when he grows up. "Haha, very funny." I say, without laughing. "Now go clean it up."

"But-"

"Or do I have to talk to your dad and mom about this?" Patrick snorts and I look at him and say, "That goes for you as well, Patrick." They suddenly find the "inspiration" to clean up right away. Once that's done, there's only fifteen minutes until the pizzas are done so I open up my DVD case and leaf through the movies that would be 'kid appropriate'. Hmm, let's see; 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'? Definitely not. 'Doctor Who'. Nope. 'Princess Bride'? Maybe, although they might not get some of it. 'Firefly/Serenity'? No and No. 'Dark Angel', 'Lone Gunman', 'Van Helsing', 'Casablanca', 'Torchwood', 'Queen of the Damned', 'Chronicles of Riddick'? No, No, No, No, No, No, and No. Agh; why didn't I bring any of my kid movies? I'm gonna make a list of the movies I need if there are going to be more nights like these. 'Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy'? Another maybe. I end up choosing 'Princess Bride' and 'Hitchhikers'; a princess story for the girls and a space adventure for the boys. Well that and those are the only two movies that are really age appropriate (somewhat). I then gather the kids (which feels like rounding up horses or herding sheep at times) and we tromp on over to the lounge where we settle down. "How about 'Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy'?" I suggest. We have the entire room to ourselves (obviously) and the boys are currently trying to play foosball but since they're to short it's not really working.

"Did someone order a pizza?" Someone says.

I turn around and see that it's Mick, who's carrying the pizzas; one in each arm.

"Thanks." I say as he sets them down on a nearby table.

"No problem sweetheart." He says, flashing me his trademark smile. "Anything else you kids need?"

I think and almost hit myself when I realize what I forgot to get. "Drinks." I say, sheepishly.

Mick just smiles and says, "Don't worry, Mick'll get them for you. What'll it be?"

"Soda!" they call out almost together.

Mick just looks at me with a raised eyebrow. I shake my head and say, "Milk and an iced tea."

"Right-o. Be back in a jiff." Mick then exits the room and I let the kids play until he comes back with the drinks as well as plates, napkins, and silverware (although I don't know that we're gonna actually use them. Well ok, maybe to cut the slices up).

"You're a lifesaver." I say as he hands me the stuff.

"I know. Now about that tip…" he says trailing off and smiling.

I just roll my eyes and say, "How about an IOU? And tell Alex that I'm not like that, I was just having a bad few days."

"Un-huh, sure you were sugar." Mick says in a tone that told me that he didn't believe me. But he just leaves it at that and exits the room. As he leaves I can't help but smile, the man is such a flirt. By this time I'm having trouble keeping the kids from hovering around the food like vultures so ask who wants what. They mostly want the cheese so that's quickly demolished, leaving the half and half for me. After sitting them down, cutting up the pizza for the ones who want it, getting them silverware, handing them their drinks, arming them with a mound of napkins, turning on the player, putting in the DVD, and closing the drive I'm finally able to pick up a few slices for myself. Skipping the previews the main screen pops up and I press 'play'.

_It's an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem. For instance, on the planet Earth, Man had always assumed that he was the most intelligent species occupying the planet, instead of the third most intelligent. The second most intelligent were of course dolphins. Dolphins had long known of the impending destruction of earth and had on many occasions tried to alert mankind but their warnings were mistakenly interpreted as amusing attempts to punch footballs or whistle for tidbits…_

Opening my iced tea, I settle down on the couch next to Maria and Jamie and watch the movie. I occasionally have to get up to get someone another slice or pause the movie for a bathroom break. Around the time Arthur and crew arrive to Magrathea the natives start to get restless, so I stop the movie and say, "Who wants some ice cream?" They all agree with the idea (who wouldn't?) and we head for the door. Just then an alarm goes off and the door locks.

"What's going on?" Jamie asks, her voice filled with fear. The other kids look equally worried and I give them a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I'm sure that everything's going to be alright. Why don't we watch the rest of the movie? We can get the ice cream later."

They reluctantly agree and I resume the movie. Making sure that their attention is on the movie and not on me I walk over to the edge of the room and activate my headset. "Dr. Weir?" I ask into it quietly.

"_Weir here._"

"It's Max. Anything going on that I should be worried about?"

"_Nothing to be worried about, we're just having a few technical problems._"

Uh-huh. "Any idea when it'll be fixed?"

"_Not long. Rodney should be able to fix it._"

"Ok, thanks for the info." I say ending the transmission. I stare out the window for a bit, thinking. As I look out the window, I see the Daedalus lifting off of the pier. That's strange, it's usually here for at least a week. My mind keeps on wondering what's going on. Certainly not tech issues. After a bit the alarm shuts off and I walk towards the door and test to see if it's working. It is.

"Ewwww!" I hear the kids exclaim and turn to see what's going on. I smile when I see that it's the part with Arthur and Tillian kiss. I remember when I was at the age when I thought kissing was disgusting. Not anymore. I sit down to watch the rest of the movie with them but I find it hard to concentrate so I get up and clean up the pizza boxes and other stuff. The movie finishes and I look at the time, 9:30pm, and then glance at the kids. They're looking a bit sleepy so I figure that it's time for bed. We head on back to my place and they change into their pj's, as do I. Elizabeth must have sent over some sleeping bags and pillows while we were in the lounge because they were in the living room when we got back, so I unroll those and get everything set. After making sure that they brushed their teeth and everything I ask, "Want me to read a story?" They nod and I grab one at random. It's 'Spilt Milk'. I'm almost finished with it when they fall asleep. I glance at the clock and see that it's five after ten. They must have been more tired than I thought. I look at their peaceful expressions and can't help but smile. Oh to be a child again; none of the worries of an adult. I get up and quietly lower the lights, but don't turn them out. I make my way into my room and turn on a lamp. I then turn on my laptop and climb into bed. Accessing my music player, I flip through my collection until I find 'Carmen' and hit the play button. I then put on my glasses (I'm nearsighted but can get away without wearing them so I don't wear them often), and start a letter to home. I'll read the ones that just arrived later. I type away for about an hour or so, listening to opera when I spot movement out of the corner of my eye. Pressing pause, I look up and see that it's Maria. "What's wrong, sweetie?" I ask, turning off my laptop and setting it onto the nightstand, moving over to make room and pat the space I just made, so she could come up next to me.

She does and says in a tearful voice, "I'm scared."

"Did you have a bad dream?" I ask. She shakes her head no and I realize that she's still not over the fact that Marc couldn't pick her up.

I put an arm around her and she moves closer to me. "Are you worried about your dad?" She nods her head and I say, "There's nothing to worry about; he knows how to take care of himself."

"Really?" Maria asks in a small voice.

"Yup. How do you think that your dad got to be such an important person in the Air Force if he didn't know how to get through impossible situations?" That seems to reassure her a little, but she doesn't move. Guessing what she wants I say, "You want to sleep here?" She nods her head and I can't help but smile. They're so cute at that age. "Alright, I'll go get your stuff and then turn out the light." I then get out of bed, turn off my computer, take off my glasses, and go into the other room where the rest of them are sleeping soundly. I gather Maria's pillow and teddy bear up and head back to the bedroom. I stop at the doorframe and look at the sight before me. She's already under the covers curled up, asleep. She's found Commander Bun-Bun and is hugging him tightly. I sigh at the cuteness of it all and quietly move into the room. I set her bear on top of the laptop and when I move her over to make room for me, she doesn't stir. I ease into bed, turn out the light and am soon fast asleep as well.

A/N: I am nearsighted but hardly wear my glasses like I'm suppossed to. I wrote this before 'The Return' aired in the US so it's AU (if you couldn't tell -rolls eyes-). I'm doing my happy dance right now because nwfairy put Max in her own OC story (which you all should read btw). Alex and Maria belong to Reefgirl, Crysta belongs to Nenya (hey! I remembered this time!), Logan belongs to James Cameron, and Lorne, Wier, and Rodney belong to TPTB. I own everything else (which is like Max and the kids). Tell me what you think of the chapter.


	15. That Morning

I open my eyes and see that it's still dark out. I glance at the clock and see that it's 3am. Something woke me up, what I don't know. I know what you're thinking and I'm a heavy sleeper; it takes a lot to wake me up. There's a flash of light from outside and I know that something's happening. But what? I get up and put on my terry-cloth robe and glasses. Making sure that I don't trip over the kids and wake them up I slowly and quietly make my way to the balcony.

Opening the sliding door, I step out into the cool night and look at the sky above. What I see makes me gasp in surprise; there's a battle being waged above Atlantis. There are streams of light and brilliant flashes everywhere. I can faintly hear the sounds of whatever's up there exploding. So _this_ is what's happening. Is it the Wraith? Are they attacking Atlantis again? These questions and many more go through my mind as I watch the battle above.

Damn it, I wish I had brought along that telescope like Daniel suggested. If I had then I maybe could have seen what was going on. Suddenly the sky is filled with bright lights and I see that they're heading straight for the city. I flinch and brace myself for the bone-jarring explosions to rip through the city but they never come; only muffled thumps. I look up and see that they're being stopped by some kind of shield. There are so many explosions that I can see my hand, when before it was all I could do to see five inches in front of me.

The night is then filled with a bright light and I look up to see that millions of bright thingies (I know, really technical huh?) are pouring out of the main spire of Atlantis. My mouth opens in astonishment as I watch them fly up and into the night sky. I look back up to the sky and see the thingies have started attacking the ships up there. How do they know which ones to attack?

There are brilliant explosions as ships are destroyed. But there are still a number of ships firing and it looks like we're outnumbered. All of a sudden there's this massive pulse that comes shooting upwards and outwards and then more explosions. What the hell is going on? After the pulse, there's silence. Only the wind ruffling my hair.

Ok, what just happened? I stand there for who knows how long until I start to shiver. I then go back inside and see that everyone's still asleep. Wow, I've got to hand it to them; they can sleep through anything. I make my way back into bed and try to fall asleep, but can't. My mind's still reeling with what I saw. Only when the sky finally starts to lighten do I fall asleep.

-_insert nifty divider thingie_-

The kids wake up around 6am, which means that Jason and Patrick wake me up at 6:01am by jumping onto my bed and startling me awake. I inwardly groan, I'm gonna be running on a half charged battery. But I'll live; I've gotten less sleep than this when I was going for my Masters and I still managed to function. Barely, but still managed to function.

After making sure that everyone got cleaned up and dressed for the day we roll up the sleeping bags and restore order to my living room. By that time they're getting hungry so we head on down to the cafeteria. As we walk down the hallways I notice that people are less high-strung then they've been the past few months, they're more pleasant to each other and I notice that there is less of a military presence in the hallways and the ones that are walking around are considerably less armed than they have been.

When we arrive there's no line so we walk right up. I smile at Alex and she smiles back. "What's for breakfast?" I ask, trying to see what's under the metal covers.

"French Toast." She says, pulling off a cover. "Which is made from scratch."

"Really?" I ask. I didn't think that would be possible out here.

She nods her head and says, "Yup."

Yum, I love homemade French Toast but I stick with cereal just the same. Gotta watch what I eat, I've always been a little on the chubby side and am on a permanent diet. However that doesn't stop the kids from getting it. Once they're all settled I look around the room. People are once again talking with each other and there's less reading, writing, or typing going on from the science personnel and the military guys are less jumpy than they have been. It's almost like the last few months hadn't even happened. I start to wonder if I had just been imagining things and what I saw last night was just a dream. But it had felt so real; so real that I start to doubt my sanity and maybe I need to have a little chat with Katie Hightmeyer.

But then Elizabeth, John, Teyla, Marc, and a few other military guys walk in and I see that John is sporting a black eye, one of Marc's fingers is taped up and the other guys are sporting an assortment of cuts and bruises while Elizabeth only looks sleep-deprived.

So _something _did happen last night, I'm not slowly going mad. Whew, _that's_ a relief. Elizabeth, John, Teyla, and Marc make their way towards us, and are half-way towards our table just as Jamie looks up from her French Toast and spots them. The biggest grin appears on her face and she jumps out of her chair and makes a bee-line towards John.

"Daddy!" she shouts, enveloping his legs in a sticky embrace. The hug is so forceful that it nearly knocks John over.

He laughs and ruffles her hair. "Miss me, kiddo?" he asks, picking her up.

"Yes, I was 'fraid that you weren't gonna come back." She says, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Hey, you know that I wouldn't let that happen." He says. "I've got you and your brother to come home every night to."

"You didn't last night." She says in a matter-of-fact voice. "You an' mommy didn't pick us up like you always do."

"That's true, because mommy and I had some important things to take care of." John says. "But we left you with Max didn't we? We knew that you'd be safe with her."

I open my mouth to comment on what John had just said, but am stopped from replying because at that moment Patrick decided to reach for the syrup, which he isn't _quite_ able to get at, and ends up tipping it over. The syrup spills onto the table and over the edge, right onto my lap before I can stop the flow or jump away. So now syrup is all over my jeans, which are slightly brand new (I've only worn them twice). I grab a handful of napkins and start to press them onto my jeans, hoping to soak up the majority of the syrup before it sets in.

"Patrick McKay, what do you say to Max?" Elizabeth says, giving him 'the look'.

"Sorry."

I look at him and see that he's near tears. "It's ok, these things happen." I say. "I just have to soak them so they won't stain."

"Then why don't you go do that?" Elizabeth says. "Since we're here we can help them finish breakfast and can come by later to pick their stuff up."

"What about Stuart? I haven't seen Carson or Laura yet." I say, my gaze drifting over the sea of people.

"That's ok, we'll watch him." John says, having set Jamie back down in her seat.

"If you're sure…"

"Yes. Now go while there's still a chance of saving your jeans." Elizabeth says.

"Ok. I'll see you guys later." I say, getting up. I rush out of the cafeteria and along the hallways. I want to take the quickest way to my room so that means I'll have to take a transporter. I've gotten used to using them, but I still don't like it. But this time I have no choice. I head to the nearest one and press the crystal to open it. Entering I'm about to press the area where my room is when I hear a "Hold it!"

I pause and turn around to see who called out. It's Logan. And here I was having such a nice day. I could pretend I didn't hear him and press the spot. I move my hand closer to the spot but before I can press anything Logan enters the transporter. Damn, I hesitated to long. Oh well, I just won't talk to him.

"Where you going?" he asks me.

Damn, now I actually have to speak. "My quarters." I say in a polite voice.

"In which part of the city?" he asks.

"The southwest part, why?"

"Good. I'm heading there as well." I scowl and he smiles, "You're not rid of me yet." He says.

It's like the man was reading my mind, creepy. I just roll my eyes and say, "Whatever." I then press the spot where my finger had been hovering over. The trip will be over in a second and then he and I can go our separate ways. There's a flash of light and then we're in the other chamber. Only there's a problem; the door won't open.

A/N: -Cue dramatic music- (dundundun) Here's where things get intersting. Hang onto you keyboards, it's going to be a bumpy (yet oh so thrilling) ride.

Why are Max and Logan trapped?

What went on during the night?

Was it really Wraith? Or something more sinister?

Will Max and Logan make up?

Will Max confront Elizabeth about being left out of the loop?

All this and more shall apear in chapters to come. I'm currently doing my happy dance because nwfairy is putting Max in her own OC story 'A Different McCay'. I can't wait for her to update and read it. If you haven't done so already, you should go and read it. Alex and Maria belong to Reefgirl, the rest belong to either MGM/ Cooper-Wright or me (you should know who belongs to whom by now. If not then we need to have a serious talk). Review and tell me your thoughts on the chapter. Right now I have to go bug nwfairy to update her story so I don't burst from the waiting -scampers off to poke nwfairy until she updates-


	16. Trapped

They later told us that just after we rematerialized there was a city-wide power failure. They didn't tell me exactly why, but I guessed that it was a result of whatever happened the night before. But at that time we had no idea what was going on, only that the doors to the chamber wouldn't open and we were stuck inside it. I stepped in front of the door, but it didn't work. I tried to open it manually, but it didn't work. I slam a fist into the door and growl in frustration. "What's going on?" I ask Logan.

"How should I know? I'm on the bio staff, not a Techie." He snarked.

"Geeze what's got your boxers in a twist?" I ask, trying to think about something else other than I was stuck inside an enclosed space with a very attractive person. But that same attractive person of the male species was the very same person who I'm currently slightly pissed off at.

Logan just sighs and runs a hand through his already mussed hair. "Sorry," he apologized. "I haven't gotten a lot of sleep lately."

"Haven't heard that excuse in awhile." I snark. Hey, if he can do it then so can I. We're silent for a bit and then I say, "How do we get out of here?" I ask.

"I have no idea."

"Great. That's just great." I think. I sit down on the floor, we might be here for awhile, and lean my head against the wall. I look at my watch and see that only five minutes have passed. Feels like longer. Logan sits down beside me and the awkward silence continues. Ten more minutes pass when it suddenly hits me and almost smack my head against the wall for not thinking of it sooner. Duh, how could I be so dumb? I snap my fingers and say, "Headset."

"Huh?" Logan asks, looking at me.

"Headsets. We can use our headsets to let them know that we're stuck in here." I move my hand to activate mine but it only envelops air. "Damn it." I curse. "I must have left mine in my quarters. What about you?"

"Have mine. Never take it off."

"Well yea, that's because I actually sleep." I snap.

"Whatever." Logan says, reaching for his. "Dr. Weir?" He says. "Dr. McKay?" He says a few seconds later. "Hello? Can anyone hear me?" He pauses then repeats it.

I gently bang my head against the wall and softly groan. God, we're gonna be stuck in here forever.

But before I can full out panic Logan smiles and says, "Dr. Beckett? Sorry, Carson, force of habit. What happened? Uh-huh. Can you raise Dr. McKay and have him call me? Thanks." Logan looks at me and says, "That was Carson. Since I couldn't raise McKay I asked Carson to call him and have McKay then call me. He has no idea what happened." I nod my head and before I can reply Logan holds up a hand and says, "We're fine, all in one piece. Max and me. Where are we? We're stuck inside a transporter chamber on the southwest part of the city, that's what. No I don't know the exact part, can't you find it using the radio signal? I'm stuck in a transporter, how am I to know that it's down?" He rolls his eyes and I stifle a laugh. He must be talking to McKay. "Uh-huh, really? How long? Really? That long? Well excuse me. If I could I would. Thanks anyway." Looking at me, he says, "Something happened with the ZPM and naquada generators that affected everything city-wide."

"How long until they get us out?" I ask, almost dreading the answer.

"He doesn't know. They're working as fast as they can, but it's gonna be awhile."

Ok, nothing to worry about. You're stuck inside a small area with a really cute guy. Most girls would kill to be in this kind of predicament. If that's true then why do I feel slightly panicked at the thought of me and Logan stuck in here for hours on end? Oh, yea now I remember; I'm claustrophobic! Chill Max, you gotta relax. You can beat this, just take nice slow deep breaths, close your eyes and think nice wide open spaces. I do just that; I close my eyes and think of wide open fields, ballparks, the beach on a nice warm day and slowly breathe in and out. That works for about a half hour (I think) and then I slowly feel the walls start to press in. This is getting to be too much. It's getting harder for me to stay calm; I want to get out of here NOW! Argh!

"Max, you ok?" Logan asks, grabbing my shoulders and looking at me.

I realize that I must have spoken the last part out loud and that's why he's suddenly concerned about me. Yea, let's go with that brand of logic. "Sorry," I say calming down a bit. "I'm claustrophobic."

"Oh, this must be hell for you."

"A bit."

"Well, I just finished talking to Rodney and he says that it's still gonna be awhile since people are trapped all over the city and right now we're still pretty low on the priority list."

Great, this day just keeps getting better and better. I groan and lower my head into my arms (which are bridged over my knees). This slightly helps, but I'm still getting that trapped feeling. I realize that there's a tightness in my chest and it's getting hard to breathe. Ok, this isn't good. I thought I had taken my Advair this morning, but in all the hustle and bustle I guess I forgot to.

"Anything I can do to help?" I hear Logan ask.

I shake my head and stand. I then reach back for my inhaler but my jean pocket is smooth. Slightly panicked, I feel my other pocket. It's smooth as well. Shit, I don't have it. This is defiantly not good.

"What are you looking for?" Logan asks.

"My inhaler." I simply say. The less I have to say the better.

Logan looks at me for a moment and then it finally dawns on him. "Oh." He says, "I guess that this went from bad to worse."

"Yup."

"I'm calling Carson."

"Don't."

"Why? He needs to know." I can't come up with a better point so I just glare at Logan while he activates his headset and says, "Carson? Yea it's Logan. I'm fine, however Max isn't. No, nothing like that. It's just that she's claustrophobic and has asthma on top of that and well…yea she doesn't have it." Pausing for a second, he asks me, "Where is it?"

"My room."

"Her quarters. Where?"

"Bedroom. Nightstand."

"Her bedroom on the nightstand. She's fine at the moment, just a little panicked and all. No I don't know exactly where we are, well other than on the southwest side of the city. That's what I told him, but he claims that it's down. Uh-huh, will do." Logan then looks at me and says, "Carson's sending someone over to your quarters to get it and then when we get out he'll be waiting. He also said to try and calm down and don't move around a lot."

I snort at the last comment. "I can do the latter but the former is easier said than done."

Logan shrugs and says, "Don't shoot the messenger."

"Whatever." I say sitting down. I look at my watch again and see that it's been an hour and a half since we first got stuck. God, I'm never gonna live through this. Logan joins me on the floor and we sit there for awhile not talking. Then I can't take it anymore, let out a frustrated growl, get up, and start pacing.

"That's not gonna help any." Logan says, his eyes closed. How he can stay so calm is beyond me.

"Shut up." I snap.

"Can't you just relax?"

"No, I want to get out of here NOW!" I yell and pound on the wall, hoping that someone's on the other side of the door and they can hear it and let them know that there are people trapped. But nothing like that happens.

"Why don't you just sit down and we can talk." Logan says, opening his eyes and following me as I continue to pace back and forth.

"No."

"Why? I wouldn't think that what you're doing could help any, it just reminds you how small the space is."

I stop and think for a moment. He's right, this isn't helping. "Fine, but don't expect me to get all 'Ya-Ya Sisterhood' on you."

"Fair enough." He says as I sit down with ten inches between us. Sitting doesn't really help the tightness in my chest, which has gotten slightly worse, but it's slightly better than walking back and forth. "So," Logan says, looking at me. "where'd you grow up?"

"Born in Chicago but moved to Springs the summer of my freshman year of high school. Stay in Seattle all your life?"

"Yup, although I went to Yale for college. I have a cousin who lives in Virginia so I wasn't quite by myself."

"You know your name is really familiar but I haven't been able to place it."

Logan smiles at that and says, "Yea, that happens to a lot of people. You know the government satellites with GPS and all that?" I nod my head and he continues, "Well they need a tiny chip to work and my family owns all the factories that make that chip."

"Ah, so that explains it."

"Yup."

I open my mouth to ask another question but Logan holds up his head and says, "Yea we're still here. You did? That's good, how long? Still? I know that." He rolls his eyes and I smile. He must be talking to Rodney. There's a pause then Logan says, "She's doing fine, I think. Going a little stir crazy here, but she can still talk. Yea she was walking back and forth for a bit but I convinced her to sit down and we've been talking. Rodney tell you where we are? That's good. You do? Ok, hold on." Taking his headset off he hands it to me and says, "Carson wants to talk to you."

I nod and take the headset. "Hey Carson." I say, feeling out of breath.

"_How ye doin' lass?_"

"A bit winded and the small space is starting to get to me, but other than that ok considering."

"_Jus' try to relax. I've got your inhaler and Rodney's managed to locate where ye two are, I'm on me way with it. Once you're out do ya think ye can make it ta the infirmary under ye own steam?_"

"Don't know, maybe. You know how much longer we're gonna be stuck here?"

"_Sorry lass that's Rodney's department, not mine._"

"That's all right."

"_Can I talk to Logan again?_"

"Sure, here he is." I then take off the headset and hand it back to Logan. He takes it and puts it back on. "I think I can do that. Yes I'm sure. Alright."

"Did Rodney tell you when we're gonna get out of here?" I ask, unzipping the top of my fleece sweatshirt. It had been chilly so I had slipped it on and was comfortable until we got stuck in here. Now it was getting a little too warm for comfort. I'm just glad I have an undershirt under the fleece so I can take it off if it gets to hot. But I hope that it wouldn't come to that.

"Still the same estimate as before. And that was after he made a comment about how he wasn't superman." Logan said rolling his eyes. "Like anyone was thinking that."

I smile and laugh softly. I glance at my watch and see that we've been in here two hours. Gah, when are we gonna get out of here? I sigh and close my eyes. It feels like we've been in here forever.

"Max, why don't you tell me about your family? I think I heard that you had a brother and sister." I hear Logan say. I know what he's doing, trying to get my mind off of being stuck in a small space and having trouble breathing. That must be what Carson wanted Logan to do; that's sweet, they're actually concerned about me. Now if they started to trust me then we'll be like one big dysfunctional, crazy, wacky, family. "Yea, I'm the oldest of three, my brother Hugh is next and my sister Tori is the baby."

"What do they do?"

"Hugh's studying to be a pilot and Tori just started college last year."

"What's she studying?"

"Criminal Justice."

"What does she want to work in?"

"At first it was FBI, but now she's thinking about NIS or DEA. What about you? What does your cousin out near D.C. do?"

"He works for NCIS out in Virginia."

"What's his name?"

"Anthony DiNozzo."

We go back and forth like that for awhile. It sort of helps take my mind off of being trapped but not completely. I can't stay still; I'm tapping my foot or toes or drumming my hand softly against the floor. Logan must notice my anxiety but doesn't say anything about it. However, I do learn a lot about Logan; only child, parents died in an accident when he was young, was raised by his aunt and uncle in Seattle (who he hates with a passion). Was captivated by computers and didn't want to go into the family business.

"So what about your family? We've basically covered mine." Logan asks me.

I open my mouth to reply, but find that I'm too winded to talk. I just shake my head.

Logan gives me a concerned look and asks, "Getting worse?"

I nod my head to show my agreement.

He activates his headset and says, "Carson you there? It's Logan. I'm fine but Max isn't; she's getting worse. Yea, she can't talk. Where are you?" There are a few muffled thumps coming from the outside. "Yea we here you."

Oh, so that was Carson. I close my eyes and try to concentrate on breathing and not the feeling that the walls are starting to shrink and that I can hardly take a deep breath. Frustrated and scared, tears start to well in my eyes and I start to cry. Which really doesn't help the breathing issue.

"Uh-huh, hold on a minute Rodney." I hear Logan say and then the sounds of him shifting closer to me. "Max?" he says softly. "Hey, don't cry. Everything's going to be alright. Rodney just told me that Carson told him what's going on and he's working on the problem right now. We're gonna get out of here soon."

But I want out now! I nod my head to show that I understood and Logan moves back and says in a normal tone, "I'm back. How much longer? I know but things aren't getting better. Thank you, was that so hard?" I then hear Logan mutter, "The man is so full of himself." I smile and laugh, which I really shouldn't be doing at the moment. But I can't help it, that was just so funny. I close my eyes again and after what feels like forever I hear the 'swish' of the doors opening and the rush of fresh air coming in. I sigh. Thank Fred.

I hear footsteps coming towards us and then Carson saying, "Here it 'tis, Max."

I open my eyes and see that he's got my inhaler. I take it and convey my thanks with my eyes. I take off the cap while shaking it, then raise it to my mouth and press down. I breathe the medication in and hold my breath while mentally counting to ten. I then exhale and then repeat the process. After exhaling for the last time, I feel that much better. The tightness has eased up and to get rid of the rest I just have to wait five more minutes and then take more. "Thanks." I whisper out to Carson.

"You're welcome lass. Jus' make sure next time you have it with ye." I nod my understanding. "I want ye to come down ta the infirmary. Can you walk?" he asks.

I nod. Logan holds out a hand to help me up and this time I take it. But when I get up, I suddenly feel dizzy and my knees buckle. Logan still has somewhat of a hold on me so he catches me and lowers me slowly to the floor. "I think that's a no." he says.

"I'll call for a wheelchair." Carson says, reaching up to activate his headset.

"You don't have to, I'll carry her." Logan says, helping me up slowly this time. Before I can protest though, he takes my legs and "sweeps" me into his arms.

"If you're sure." Carson says a hint of amusement in his voice.

"No problem."

"_You'll get no protest from me._" I think.

"Ok." Logan shifts me around a bit, to get a better hold on me, and the three of us head down the hallway.

A/N: Sorry, I just had to make that Michael Weatherly joke. I really do have asthma and I have to say it sucks. You always have to remember to take your meds and if you have an attack it feels like breathing through water. I have a ship! Apparently one of my readers thinks that Max and another person make a good couple. I feel so special. Really, I do. And I guess that they've (finally) picked a name for Lorne so now I have to fit that name into my story. Which shouldn't be to hard, but I'm going to continue to call him Marc. I feel that that's a better name for him than what they picked. Enough of my ramblings, time for the disclaimers; Logan belongs to James Cameron, I own Max, and all cannon characters belong to Cooper/Wright. Press the little blue button and tell me what you thought of this chapter.


	17. My Subconscious Talking?

"I want ta keep ya here overnight, Max. Make sure that ya doin' alright." Carson says, writing something on what I assume to be my chart.

"Fine with me." I say. I've had enough attacks to know the drill; overnight for observation, medication when I need it, take it easy for a few days.

Carson smiles and finishes writing. "Anything we can get from your quarters?" he asks.

I nod. "Letters from my family, some books, my laptop." Carson raises an eyebrow and I add, "I'm working on a letter to home."

Carson seems to think about this for a bit then says, "Alright but I catch you working on anything else and I'll take it away."

I nod and stifle a smile. He sounds like me when I was threatening Jason and Patrick the other night. Carson then walks away; I relax against the pillows, close my eyes, sigh, and relax. It's been at least two hours since we got out of the transporter and I'm relaxing in the infirmary. I'm the only one in there, which surprises me considering what happened last night. My stuff arrives and I pick up the letters, first the one is from my mom. It's mostly info on how she and pop are doing, what my other relatives are up to, and stuff that's happening around the neighborhood. She doesn't write it, but I can tell she's still worried about me. Even though I tell her almost every time I write that I'm fine.

The next one I open is from Tori. She goes on about her classes (she's attending Illinois' Western University), her roommate (who apparently resembles me in the fact that she's a mess), and her group of friends. She's taking 17 credit hours with Criminal Justice as her major and a minor in Spanish.

Hugh's letter is much the same with a few exceptions; he's attending a local college and still lives at home (so he doesn't have a roommate) and he went on for half a page about this girl he met. He doesn't say it outright, I can tell that he likes her but doesn't have the guts to ask her out. I pick up Missy's letter next and open it. I'm halfway through it when I hear someone say, "So much for a perfect record of staying out the infirmary." Looking up I see that it's Lydia.

"Hey I know you. You remind me of someone I used to have breakfast and see movies with." I say, smiling.

"Yea, sorry about that. Stuff's been crazy." She says, moving a chair towards me and sitting down in it. "But enough about me, everything ok?"

"Other than a slight asthma attack."

"Slight?" Lydia says, raising an eyebrow. "Because from what I heard Logan had to carry you to the infirmary."

"Yes he did but that was because I was a little light headed."

"Uh-huh."

I roll my eyes and know at the next poker game I'm never gonna hear the end of it.

"You ok, now?"

"Why, Lydia you flatter me. That was almost sincere enough to make me think that you really cared." I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm. I laugh and say, "Yes I'm fine."

"Then why are you still here? Shouldn't you be looking after the rug-I mean adorable children?" Lydia amends as she sees Carson pop his head out of the doorway and look towards us. He doesn't say anything, just looks at me and then disappears back inside his office. Hint taken Carson.

"Carson wants me to take it easy and keep me here overnight just to make sure I don't have another attack. Don't worry it's standard." We chat for a bit more about this and that and discuss what we should play for our next movie night. We narrow it down to the Tenth Doctor, Torchwood, and Dark Angel. After making plans to have breakfast together, Lydia leaves and I'm by myself again. I turn on my laptop and finish up my letter to mom and dad (leaving out what just happened), and work on ones to Tori, Hugh, Missy, and Dave. I still have yet to receive a letter from him. Sighing more from restlessness than boredom I fiddle around on my laptop for a bit, making sure that Carson doesn't see me. I manage to create three new play lists that I've been meaning to make and two more that I do just out of sheer boredom. I pick up a book at random and start to read. It's 'Star Wars: Wraith Squadron' and happens to be one of my favorite series but I can't seem to get into it.

After re-reading the same paragraph for the fifth time I close it and toss it to the edge of the bed. I glance at the clock, see that it's 11:35am and groan. I'm so frickin' board. This has got to be the longest day I've ever had. No wait; the longest day was when we went to the Smithsonian Museums, so this is the second longest day I've ever had. I'm hungry, when's lunch? Oh, that's right; I get it brought to me since I'm supposed to be "taking it easy". I feel special. I stare up at the ceiling and resort to counting the tiles and humming songs that pop into my mind. Right now I'm humming 'Toxic'. Anything to keep my mind off occupied. Now I'm onto 'Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off'. I tap my feet to the imaginary beat. Let's see; 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 2-

"Hey aren't you supposed to be resting?" Damn, I've lost count. Now I have to start all over again. I look to see who broke my concentration and see that it's Logan.

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

He holds up a bag and says, "I come baring entertainment." He hands me the bag and I look inside to see what's inside. A set of headphones and a few CDs. "How can I ever thank you?" I say the words before I can think about them. Oh boy, the rumor mill is sure to be buzzing about this one for awhile.

Logan smiles and says, "Thank Lydia. She was the one to raid your room and put in a few things of her own as well. But I did bring you this." He says taking something out of his bag. It's a book on meditation. "So the next time something like this happens you won't be so high strung."

Wow, I don't know what to say. That's truly thoughtful of him. I think. "Thanks." I say taking the book from his hands and flipping thought it.

"Your welcome." He says, smiling. Logan must have noticed the open letters because he asks, "From home?"

"Hm? Oh, yea. They arrived yesterday but I hadn't had time to look at them until now." He smiles again and asks, "You feeling better?"

"Lots. That's modern medicine for you. Feels like I didn't even have an attack."

"That's good. I have to admit that you had me worried in there."

"Really?" I ask, wondering where this is suddenly coming from.

"Yea. It seems that when ever we're together something happens. Some might call it fate."

"Or it could be the fact that I'm really klutzy." I quip, trying to ignore the funny feeling that suddenly appeared in my stomach. Logan takes off his glasses and I can't help but think how much more attractive that makes him.

"You're truly amazing you know that."

"Am not." I say, blushing.

He moves closer to me and smiles. "No it's true. Anyone else would have freaked out about teaching kids in a distant galaxy where wanna-be vampires could attack at any moment and suck the life out of you but you," he says, sitting on the side of the bed. I don't protest. "you take everything around here in stride."

"Well, I've always been attracted to the slightly strange all my life." I manage to say, his presence starting to have an intoxicating effect on me. We stare at each other for a few minutes, not saying anything and then Logan suddenly leans towards me and kisses me. And I kiss him back. I know that this isn't right; I already have a boyfriend. But there's a part of me that doesn't care. As we continue to kiss, I can't help but feel how this just feels right, like this was supposed to happen all along, that Logan and I were meant to be together.

I sit up, the bed slightly creaking as I do, and gather my bearings. I'm still in the infirmary, it's night and in the dim light I can just make out the numbers on the clock; 12:30am. I lean back and take a deep breath. That was one hell of a dream. At least I think it was a dream. I look to the side of the bed and see the stack of opened letters. Drawing in a shaky breath, I take the top one and see that it's the one from Missy. My heart thudding I open it and read it. There's nothing in there that was in my dream, just gossip about our crew, work, and a funny story about Theo's first time riding the bike he finally bought. I sigh with relief, glad that it was just a dream. But I can't help but think about the part with Logan, it had felt so real. They say that dreams are the subconscious's way of telling you what you really desire. If that's true then what's mine trying to tell me?

A/N: Ok, before everyone hits me, let me explain. I wrote this chapter tottally by accident. Ok, that's a lame excuse but it just sort of popped out and I'm really really trying to stay away from the normal Mary-Sue story where "the girl" ends up falling for "the guy" and that nice happy shippy ending (the kind that are excruciating nausiating). My thought process is really like that, I'll jump from one subject to another with little or no transistion. My sister is really at Western in IL and we're going to see her this weekend (Road Trip!). Time for all the kudos; Lydia belongs to BiteMeTechie (who just started writing again -does happy dance- ), Logan belongs to James Cameron, I own Max, MGM owns Carson (unfortunatly -pouts-), 'Toxic' is from Britney Spears -shudder- and ' Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off' is from Panic! At The Disco. Let me know what you think of the chapter.


	18. Not a normal day after all

It's a normal day. Stuart is working quietly, the rest of the kids are playing either with each other or by themselves and I'm typing away on my laptop. Outside the sun is shining and there is hardly a cloud in the sky. I stop typing, look out the window and stare out at the wonderful day. Maybe later on in the day I can take the kids out to one of the piers and maybe spot the supposed sea creature that the marine bio staff calls "Squishy". I hear footsteps running down the hallway and put it out of my mind. There are always people running around here. But then a few minutes later I hear yelling and then the Lanitan alarm goes off. Ok, now I know something's up. I stand and head towards the door.

"What's going on?" Jason asks as I walk past him.

"I don't know. I'm just going out to the hallway to find out. You guys stay here, ok?" I say smiling. No matter what's going on I have to keep calm for the kids. I then head towards the doors and open them, stepping into the hallway. People are running every which way with bags and equipment. What the hell is going on?

"Max!" I hear someone shout my name. I look around and see that it's Marc and he's heading towards me.

"What's going on?" I ask once he's closer.

"They found some unexploded bombs." He says, slightly out of breath. "We're evacuating all non-essential personnel to the mainland."

"Oh my-when do we leave?" I say, pushing my fear aside for the moment.

"How fast can you get the kids ready?"

"Won't take long, but what about our stuff?"

Marc shakes his head and says, "We already got stuff together. It's waiting for you down in the Bay."

I nod my head and move towards the door while saying, "Ok, we'll head down to the Jumper bay right away." I turn my back to him and take a deep breath. I have to stay calm for the kids, reassure them that everything's gonna be ok. I put on one of those plastic smiles and walk back into the room. "Who's up for a trip?" I ask in what might seem an overly cheerful voice.

"Where to?" Patrick asks me.

"Oh I don't know, what do you think about the mainland?"

Before they can respond Marc pops his head in and says, "Max, you guys gotta leave now if you want to make to the Bay."

"Daddy!" Maria says, jumping up and running over to him before I can stop her.

"Hey kiddo." Marc says, kneeling down embracing her.

"We're gonna take a trip to the mainland, wanna come?" she asks.

Marc smiles softly and says, "Can't sweetheart, I have to stay here."

"Oh." She says, slightly disappointed.

Marc then releases her and says, "I have to go back to work now, why don't let Max take you guys to the jumper bay so you can go to the mainland?"

" 'K." Maria says giving Marc a big hug. "I love you Daddy."

Marc returns the hug, somewhat hesitantly, and says, "I love you too, sweetheart." He then lets go and stands. "Can you handle them by yourself?" he asks me.

I nod my head and say, "I got it." He then turns to leave and before he exits the room I say, "Stay safe."

He turns around and smiles at me. "Don't worry, I will." He then walks out of the room and into hallway.

I quickly gather up my stuff, make sure that the kids have their stuff as well, and we head on out to the Bay. The hallways are crowded with people carrying equipment or just rushing around. More than a few times I hear the word 'bomb' uttered and hope that the kids don't overhear it as well. We make it down to the Bay where I see Lydia and Crysta there as well as Alex. "You guys leaving as well?" I ask, coming up to them.

"We are, Alex is staying here." Crysta says.

"Why? That's insane." I say.

Alex dismisses my comment with a wave of her hand and says, "I'm used to bombs. Grew up on the South Coast of England and old WW2 bombs are always being found in the harbor and around the dockyard so exploding devices are nothing new, see one seen 'em all."

"Bombs?" Jason squeaks out.

Crap. And here I was thinking that they would remain blissfully ignorant. I get down and look each of them in the eye. "They found some unexploded bombs here so they're having us go to the mainland so we'll be safe while they get rid of them."

"Are mommy and daddy gonna come?" Jamie asks in a worried tone.

I sigh, this isn't easy. "I don't know that any of your parents are coming. They might have to stay here to make sure everything goes ok. Don't worry, everything will be all right." I say, hoping to calm their fears as well as mine. But they still look like they are going to cry and I don't know what to do other than to keep reassuring them that everything will be fine. It's times like these that I get that helpless feeling and no matter what I do to get rid of it, it's still there.

"Would you look at what I have here." Alex says, pulling out a bag. I look and see that it's filled with cookies.

"Ooooo, cookies." I say standing. "What kind?"

"Double chocolate chip."

"Don't you guys like that?" I ask. They nod their heads in agreement and Alex hands them the bag.

"How about when you all get back I'll make you each something special for lunch?" Alex says.

They brighten up at the comment and I smile at Alex, silently thanking her. I put my hand on Patrick's shoulder and gently push him forward. "Come on, we need to leave now." They reluctantly head towards the waiting Jumper with Lydia, Crysta, and I behind them. Once they're all settled, I dash outside to give Alex a last good bye hug. "Stay safe." I say.

"Will do, doll. Make sure you and Logan don't become friendly with each other."

I roll my eyes at the comment and don't reply. By now I've given up trying to convince them that things are completely plutonic between us. "See you later." I say, heading back into the Jumper. The hatch closes and it starts to take off. As we head towards the mainland, I can't help but feel like I was saying good bye to family. It's strange, I know, but that's how I've come to view them, they've become sort of a surrogate family for me. After getting dinner for everyone and then tucking them in for the night, I exit the tent and head away from the encampment. I walk for awhile, thinking. My shoes hit sand and I realize that I had walked all the way to the beach. I take my shoes and socks off and move farther onto the beach. I let the waves lap onto my feet and shiver, the water's cold. But it feels good and I gaze out into the distance. I see lights far off on the horizon and wonder if they're from Atlantis. I can't help but wonder what's going on at the city, if everything's going to turn out all right, if everyone's going to be all right. My thoughts turn to Marc and I hope that he's going to be ok.

A/N: This chapter was inspired by the latest chapter in Reefgirl's story 'Cooking with a Blue MarySue'. So credit goes to her for the idea and Alex's lines (Reefgirl also own Alex and Maria). Also 'Squishy' is from Cammy's 'The Atlantis Handbook' (Chapter 6). There might be more time inbetween updates because I'm having less and less time to write the chapters as they come to me. I guess that I'm also suffering from slight writers block. -shrugs- meh, what can you do? I own Max and the kids, if you want to use them go ahead; just ask first. MGM owns all cannon characters, BiteMeTechie owns Lydia, and Nenya owns Crysta. Click the little button to your left and tell me what you thought of the chapter.


	19. That word again

We're on the mainland for two weeks until we can come back to the city. The kids fall asleep on the way back and when we arrive the parents are there to meet us. We wake up the kids and head back into the city. As we walk through the hallways, an alarm goes off. Elizabeth taps on her headset and asks what's going on. The conversation's short, but I can tell from the look on her face that it's not good news. It's in low tones and short, so I have no idea what's going on. She then turns to the other adults and they talk in quiet tones. I manage to hear a word here and there; Replicators…hive ships. All of which makes no sense to me other than hive ships. Who are the Replicators and why are they so worried about them?

Elizabeth then turns to me and says, "Something's come up. Could the kids spend the night at your place again?"

"Sure, why not?" I say plastering a smile on my face while inward I'm groaning. So I'm going to be left out of the loop again.

Elizabeth gives me a smile and says, "Thanks."

"No prob." I say, but I don't think that she or the others hear me because they're already jogging down the hallway. I sigh and say, "Alright let's go get your overnight stuff."

We stop off at everyone's quarters, pick up their stuff, and drop it off at my place. We then head over to the cafeteria only to find that it's been shut down for the time being. I sigh, so much for getting something to eat. Oh well, I have some junk food; we can pig out when we get back to my room. We trek back to my place, but I end up carrying Jamie and holding Kelly's hand. The rest of them just follow me quietly. I can see that they're worn out and once we get back to my place I have them change into their pj's and roll out their sleeping bags (they never did pick them up) almost right away and they settle on the couch while I root through my stash. "Ok, what'll it be?" I ask. "I've got Cheetos, Doritos, Fritos, basically the whole itos family. What do you kids feel like?"

I get silence as a response and I look up to see that they're all asleep. Jason, Kelly, and Patrick are leaning against each other on the couch while Maria, Jamie, and Stuart are on the floor in their sleeping bags. I stifle a laugh and cross the room for my camera. I just found some pictures to send home with my next letter. After snapping a few pics, I set the camera down and get Jason, Kelly and Patrick into their sleeping bags. They hardly stir when I set them down. I sigh and brush a strand of hair out of my face. I gaze out the window for a bit, thinking and then pick up a bag of M&M's and pop some in.

Feeling a bit grimy I decide to take a quick rinse. The kids are asleep and will stay that way. I enter the bathroom and turn on the shower, letting the water heat up a bit before I jump in. When it does I get in and let the water wash over me and get rid of the sand and grit. It feels good to finally have running water again after two weeks of using a bucket as a shower. After a bit I turn off the water and towel off, putting on my terry cloth robe and wrapping a towel around my hair. I exit the bathroom and peek in on the kids, to make sure that they're still asleep.

They are and I duck back into my room and quickly put on my Grumpy pj pants (Grumpy but Sweet) and Oscar the Grouch top (I'm _not_ a morning person!). Taking off the towel on my hair, I run it through my hair to soak up a bit more water and then hang it up. I then get in bed, grab a book from my nightstand, open it and begin to read. I sigh; a relaxing end to a relaxing day.

-_fast forward sevral hours because the author wants to move the story along_-

I must have dozed off because the next thing I know I'm being jolted awake by the sound of an explosion. "What the hell?" I mutter as I get out of bed and walk out into the living room to see if everyone's ok. They are, just a little confused and Maria's still asleep. The girl can sleep through anything. Before I can explain everything there's a second explosion and this one is closer than the first one. Ok, even I'm starting to get a little worried. I radio for Elizabeth to find out what's going on, but she doesn't answer me. By now the kids are starting to get scared and I'm finding it hard to keep calm myself. Then someone's pounding at the door. I go over and open it, my heart racing. But it's Marc. "What's going on?" I ask him.

"C'mon, we've got to go now."

"Where? Why?"

"There's no time to explain, just get the kids."

"Ok." I then go back inside and put on a smile. I have to keep strong for the kids, no matter what happens. Kneeling in front of them, I look at Jason and Stuart and say, "I'm gonna need some help with everyone, you think you help?" I figure give them something to do so they won't think about what's going on.

They nod their heads and Jason says, "I'll look after Jamie an' Stuart can look after Kelly, Maria, an' Patrick."

I smile. "How about I take Maria since she's still sleeping? That alright with you Stuart? You can still look after Patrick and Kelly."

"I can watch after Kelly." Patrick says, moving closer to his sister.

"I know you can, but I want Stuart to watch over both of you so you'll be safe. Ok?"

"'K." he says in a small voice.

"Good." I say, standing.

"Max." Marc calls out from the door.

Oh, right. "Coming." I call out. I make my way to where Maria is and pick her up while softly saying, "Maria, wake up." She opens an eye and looks around. Just then yet another explosion rocks through the city, this one close, and I feel her tense up. "Don't worry, everything's ok." I soothe. That seems to calm her down some and she lays her head on my shoulder and drifts off again.

"Max, we gotta go _now_." Marc says, looking around like he's waiting for something to happen.

"C'mon guys let's go." I say herding them towards the door. "Jason, Jamie, hold hands and no matter what _don't let go_." I say, emphasizing the last part. "And that goes for the rest of you, ok?" They nod their understanding as we head towards the door.

"What about our clothes?" Patrick asks as we step out into the hallway. People are running around and there's extra military all around.

"No time, we gotta get to the Gate before they dial in." Marc says, starting down the hallway at a jog.

"Who's they?" I ask, after making sure that everyone can keep up with him.

"Not the time Max." he says distracted.

We all cram into a transporter and then exit in a hallway not far from the Gate room. I open my mouth to ask _when_ the right time would be when there's a huge explosion and everyone in the hallway is knocked off their feet. It sounds like whoever's attacking Atlantis is right over us. "Everyone ok?" I ask when the dust settles. Other than a few cuts and bruises everyone's alright. Maria's wide awake by now and I can tell she's scared. She's not the only one.

We stand up and Marc says, "There's not much time left, they're here. We need to carry them. Up for that?"

I nod my head and pick up Kelly in addition to already holding Maria. Marc picks up Jamie and Patrick. "Stuart, Jason, can you guys keep up with us?"

"Yup."

"Sure."

"Let's go." Marc says, heading towards the Gate Room. I make sure that Jason and Stuart are in front of me as we run down the hallway. I don't want to leave anyone behind.

As we run I hear Marc say, "...all most there, go ahead and dial it."

We're going off world? What's going on? We make it to the Gate room just as it activates and I spot Elizabeth, John, Laura, and Rodney by the control panel. Marc runs up the steps and joins them there. The kids spot them as well and with cries of 'Mommy!' and 'Daddy!' go running towards them. I set Kelly and Maria down and they go running towards Elizabeth and Marc as well. The adults go down the steps when they see the kids running towards them and embrace them in hugs.

I make my way towards them and ask, "Where are we going?"

"M7G-677.It's a planet of children and you'll be safe there." John says, releasing the twins.

"Hurry up, you don't have much time." Rodney says, looking at a computer screen.

"But I don't wanna go." Jamie says, clinging to John.

"Me either."

"I wanna stay."

"Me too." The others chorus in.

The adults look at each other and I can see that Laura and Elizabeth are fighting back tears. "I know, kids, I know." Elizabeth says, blinking them back. "But it's not safe here. But don't worry you'll be safe where you're going and Max will be there to watch after you."

I watch them cling to their parents and I can't help but get a little teary myself.

Elizabeth then looks at me and says, "There'll be someone to meet you on the other side, his name is Keras. He knows us from the times we've been there before and will take you to his village." She then pulls out a radio and IDC. "We'll contact you when it's safe, but if we don't within a week, try to dial the Alpha Site."

Before I can ask what we're to do if I can't, another violent explosion rips through the Gate Room. Sparks shower down from light fixtures as well as equipment and people are thrown everywhere. The parents cover themselves over the kids to protect them from the sparks.

"Elizabeth if they're going it has to be now!" Rodney shouts from his place at the control panel.

"You'll come back, I promise." She says.

They then hug the kids one last time and then send us towards the Gate. I grab onto Kelly and Jamie and, yelling for the boys to follow me, we all run towards the gate. Marc is already waiting in front of it with Maria. We reach it without trouble and I send the boys through first, telling them to wait for me on the other side. Before Jason's goes through, I hand him the radio and IDC, telling him to hold on to it until I come through. After they go through, I send Kelly and Maria through with the same instructions. I'm about to go through with Jamie when Marc says, "Wait."

I pause and he hands me a 9mm.

"Just in case." He says.

I nod and tuck it into the waistband of my pj pants. Jamie goes through and I'm near the wormhole when there's particularly violent explosion that knocks me back. My head hits the ground and I hear a crack. I groan and roll to my side. I try to get up but I find that I can't. Then I hear the sound of the Gate disengaging. I close my eyes and feel someone dragging me away from the Gate. I try to protest and tell them to redial the Gate but only a faint moan escapes my lips. There's more yelling and I feel the vibrations of explosions one right after the other. Suddenly there's the sound of glass shattering, the sound of weapons and gun fire, and people yelling. Then nothing.

_-and we're walking..._-

I open my eyes and there's an eerie calm. There are people lying about; all dead. I get up and wonder how long I'd been lying there and what happened.

I run up the steps and towards the DHD, but stop halfway and head back down the steps because I have no idea what the address for the planet is. As I walk around the soles of my feet become cut by the shards of glass scattered all around. We left so fast that none of us had time to put on our shoes. I look for Elizabeth, Laura, Rodney, Marc, John, or Logan; someone, _anyone_ that's still alive and knows what's going on. But I can't find anyone. I hear movement in a hallway and move towards the sound, pulling out the 9mm that I still, by some miracle, have. Silently picking my way towards the sound, I pull back the hammer and slowly raise it. I reach the wall and slowly inch towards the entrance of the hallway. I feel like I'm a female James Bond. The name's Wainwright. Max Wainwright.

Reaching it, I pause and slowly peak my head around the corner. I don't see anything so I enter the hallway, the 9mm in front of me, and slowly make my way forward. I'm alone, no one or thing there. I reach another hallway and pause, wondering which way I should go. I decide to go down the other hallway. I'm half way down the hallway when I hear footsteps. Stopping I raise my gun while saying, "Who's there?" The footsteps stop and I call out again, "Who's there? Answer me or I'll shoot."

"Don't shoot."

"Give me a good reason."

"Because I'm with the expedition."

"How do I know that you're not lying?" I ask, creeping closer to the voice. The gun is pointed to where the voice is coming from. "Tell me something only the members of the expedition would know."

"Elizabeth is married to Rodney McKay but still uses her maiden name."

I pause. That's true; I didn't know she was married until the first day of class. I lower the gun and make my way towards the voice. I get closer and I see that the voice belongs to a man with blonde hair and a bit taller than me. "What's your name?" I ask.

"Neium." He replies. "And yours?"

Hmm, Neium. Well I've heard stranger names. "Max. What happened here?"

"Replicators."

There's that word again. "What are Replicators?" I ask.

"I am." Neium says, lunging for me. I try to evade him, but am too slow. He grabs onto me and slams me into the wall, holding me up off of the ground by my neck. Neium then presses down on my throat, crushing my windpipe. I drop the gun and claw at his hand, trying to release his grip. But it's not working. I start to see spots and darkness starts to creep into my vision.

A/N: Gah! -holds hands out to stop pointy flying objects- before you kill me, every thing shall be explained in the next chapter. I had to update before getting stuff done because BiteMeTechie (whom I consider to be my Yoda) reviewed and I had to do something other than dance around like I was in 'Fame' (not that I would do anything like that in the first place...). Before I do the usual disclaimers I have to pimp a story featuring Max and the kids. It's called 'Children In Need' and is beign written by Reefgirl for a very worthy cause. Go read it, tell her what you think of the story, and tell her that I sent you. Ok, having finished said story pimpage, I own Max and the kids (except for Maria who belongs to Reefgirl), MGM/Cooper -Wright own all cannon, James Bond is owned by MGM, and Logan is owned by James Cameron. Let me know what you thought of the chapter and remember that all shall be explained in the next chapter.


	20. Under the Weather

I sit up in bed gasping, a hand flying to my throat. It takes me a few minutes to orient myself and realize that I'm still in Atlantis. It was just a bad dream. I take a deep breath and lean against my pillows, my heart still racing. Then it hits me; the kids. I bolt out of bed and dash into the living room, but it's empty. That was part of the dream as well. My eyes wander around the room in the dawn light and I dimly make out the outlines of suitcases. So we _did_ come back from the mainland, that's good to know. But what's the date? I'm confused. More so than normal. I walk over to the coffee table and turn on my computer. After it loads I roll the mouse over to the time and double-click to see the date. It's the 15th of November. We came back on the 14th. Which was yesterday.

I sigh and lean on the back of the couch. That was one hell of a dream, it felt so real. I lightly rub a hand over my throat, the memory of Neium trying to choke me still vivid in my mind. I see that I have half an hour until I'm supposed to get up, so I have two choices; I can a) go back to sleep and hope that I don't have another bad dream or b) stay up and get a head start on the day.

I choose b because the nightmare is still creeping me out and I don't want to have a repeat, so I jump into the shower and am able to take my time for once. It felt nice to soak for a bit instead of rushing as I usually have to do. After drying off and dressing for the day, I kill the rest of the time working on a letter and then head down for some breakfast. I run into Lydia and Crysta there and we chat over breakfast. But I'm not my bubbly/slightly neurotic self, the dream still throwing me off. After we finish I head over to the classroom and work on some paperwork until the kids come.

We have fun, but throughout the day one thing or another reminds me of the dream so I'm slightly less fun then normal. At lunch Logan joins us, as he normally does, but I can't seem to get into a conversation with him. The rest of the day passes without anything major happening. I notice that the kids are quieter than usual, so I wonder if they're coming down with something. The end of the day comes and the parents pick up the kids, everyone more subdued than usual.

It must be the weather, yesterday it was sunny and bright and today it's grey and cold. It's almost like seasons changed overnight. I work in the classroom for a bit, just this and that, not really doing anything. When it's around 7pm I finally head down towards the cafeteria, but walk past it. I'm just not feeling hungry at the moment. I head for my room and after I enter, slip on a Green Bay Packer's hoodie. I try to finish a letter but I just lack the energy to do anything, including the letter. I turn off the computer and take off the hoodie. I think that I've caught whatever the kids might have.

I let out a heavy sigh and head to bed. I'm under the covers when I realize that it's poker night. Looking at the clock I see that there's 10 minutes until the game starts and still have time to make it if I want to. Frak it, I don't have the energy to pretend that I'm alright. I turn out the light and am asleep within seconds.

_-Let's do the Time Warp again_...-

The next thing I know my alarm's going off. Damn, it feels like I just fell asleep. I groan but get up anyways. I feel like hell. I plod into the bathroom, turn on the water to my normal temperature and get undressed. Stepping into the shower I get under the water and find that it's too hot for me. I turn it to cold and smile as the cold water washes over me. After drying off and getting dressed, I head for some breakfast.

It's pancakes and eggs, but I end up only getting some orange juice. I sit down and stare at the bottle, trying to muster up enough energy to open it. Maybe I'll suddenly develop teletentic powers and open the bottle with my mind. I sigh; fat chance of that happening. But hey, we're in a distant galaxy in a city that was supposedly just legend. Anything's possible.

"You ok?" I hear Lydia say. I look up and see her tray loaded with pancakes, eggs, and bacon. My stomach feels queasy by just looking at food and I'm glad that I didn't get anything.

I shrug and say, "I'm fine, just not that hungry."

"If you say so. Missed you at the game last night. What happened?"

"I was just really tired." I say finally finding the energy to open the bottle and I take a sip.

"Well you missed one hell of a game." Lydia says, smiling. "Asha won almost every hand and the lights kept blinking on and off. When we talked to McKay about it, he said that everything was fine and that we were just making it up. So we ended the game early because we couldn't concentrate and the lights were starting to give us a headache. Brown had her laptop with her so she hooked it up trying to fix the lights and discovered that the lights in that room only were being given the command to turn on and off. Guess who was doing it?"

I shrug, not really up for guessing and say, "Who?"

"Sheppard. I guess he teamed up with McKay to interrupt our game. I'm planning revenge as we speak, want in?"

I shake my head and say, "No thanks."

Lydia looks at me like I just told her that the Lone Gunman really _were_ dead and then said, "Are you sure you're ok? You don't look so hot and since when do you turn down an offer for revenge? Remember the shaving cream?"

"Yea, that was good." I say smiling. "I fine really, just sleep deprived. I just need another good nights sleep and I'll be back to my normal self."

"If your sure." Lydia says, not quite convinced.

"I am."

"Ok. But promise me if you're not fine you'll stop by the infirmary after class."

"If it'll get you off my back."

"Yes."

"Fine, _mother_. I promise if I'm not feeling so hot by the end of class I'll stop by and see Carson." I say, standing. "Now if you'll excuse me I have to get to class."

"Later." Lydia says as I walk away. I give her a limp wave and make my way out into the hallway. I'm halfway to the transporter when I hear Carson calling for me.

"What's up Dr. Beckett?" I say, moving to the side of the hallway and pausing.

"_Please call me Carson._"

"Alright, what's up Carson?"

"_I just wanted to let you know that the kids aren't comin' to class today._"

"Anything wrong?"

"_They've come down with a slight flu. Nothin' serious, just somethin' that'll keep them out of class for a few days._"

"All of them?"

"_Aye. You've got the day off, lass._"

"Thanks for letting me know." I say calmly, while inside I can't wait to go back to bed. I can already hear my bed and Commander Bun-Bun beckoning to me. "Sleeeeeep," they're calling. "Sleeeeeeeeep...sleeeeeeeeeeeeeep." Mmmm, sleep. I can't wait.

"_No problem lass. Let me know if you get the same thing as them._"

"I will." There's then the slight click letting me know that Carson's cut the connection and I make my way back to my room. I fall into bed without taking anything off (including my shoes) and I groan with pleasure at the feel of the cool pillowcase on my hot face. I close my eyes and the next thing I know I hear someone calling my name. "_Max, you there?_"

"Hmm, who is this?" I mumble, my eyes still closed.

"_It's Logan. Where are you?_"

"In my room. Why?"

"_It's lunchtime I was just wondering if you were going to join me. You know, so we can have lunch together like we always do._"

At the mere mention of lunch my stomach lurches and it's all I can do to not hurl right then and there. "No, I'm feelin' a little under the weather today."

"_You ok?_" Logan asks, the concern in his voice evident.

"Yea, just need some sleep. Which you interrupted." I say, rolling over. I open my eyes and squint in the light even though it's cloudy.

"_You want me to bring you something to eat?_"

"For the love of Fred, no." I say, my stomach lurching. I get up and stumble to the bathroom while saying, "Gotta go, talk to you later." I move to the toilet and heave for a few seconds. When it finally ends, I catch my breath and make my way back to bed. Ok, so maybe I'm not sleep deprived. But it's most likely a 24hr bug and I'll be fine in the morning.

I feel hot and take off my sweatshirt that I had put on when I got back from breakfast, then lay down with my 'Superman' tank top on. I close my eyes again and drift off. I wake up slightly when there's a chime at my door, a minute's pause, and then another chime. Then Logan's voice on my headset calling my name and asking if I'm alright. Now I'm freezing. I feel around for my sweatshirt and pull it on. I try to muster the energy to get up and show him that I'm alright, but I can't find it. I used it all putting on my sweatshirt again. I then hear the 'swish' of my door opening and footsteps. Great, I have a burglar.

"Max?"

It's not a burglar, it's Logan. How did he get in? I'll ask him later when I give a damn. He's in the living room now, still calling my name. Quite loudly I might add. My mind tells him to shut up and that I'm fine, but all that escapes is "Mfph."

He pauses and then I hear him walking towards the bedroom. Oh, God. I don't want a guy who isn't my boyfriend or gay in my bedroom. Go away, Logan. Let me sleep.

"Max, you ok?" I hear him ask.

I don't answer him and I feel the bed slightly jostle as he moves closer. I then feel a hand on my forehead. "You're burning up." I hear him say.

Thank you for the weather report. God, is it so hard for you to lower your voice to sonic boom?

"Carson? It's Logan. I'm in Max's room. No you didn't win the bet. She's sick. Got a fever and when I was talking to her earlier I heard her heave a few times. Gotcha, I'm on my way with her now."

What bet is he talking about? Wait, on second thought I don't want to know. This place is like freakin' Las Vagas; a pool on almost everything. I feel Logan's hands under my body and I give a squeak of protest. Hey, watch the hands buddy. I can kick you ass; I did it once before and I can do it again.

"It's ok; I'm taking you to the infirmary." He says in a soft voice. Thank you, that was so much better. He sits me up and a wave of dizziness washes over me. I sway for a moment, and then I feel Logan's hands steadying me. Ooo, he has nice strong hands. Wait, what am I thinking? I have a boyfriend for crying out loud! I shouldn't be thinking these kinds of thoughts.

He then picks me up and I can feel him moving towards the door. I drift off again when we hit the doorway and wake up slightly when I hear more voices. Huh, we must be in the infirmary already. That was fast. I feel Logan lay me down and I faintly smile when I feel the coolness of the pillow and sheets.

"Thanks Logan. We'll take it from here." I hear Carson say, his soft lilting voice having a slightly sedating effect on me. Keep on talking and I'll be asleep in no time.

"You'll let me know how she is?"

"Of course. Now go."

I hear footsteps moving away from me and hear Carson say to someone, "She's runnin' a high temp. Let's get her iced down."

Iced down? What am I, coffee? I start to drift off again as I feel that I'm being moved, more like rolled, somewhere else and wake up as I'm being lifted up and down into something, like a tub, and finally drift off again as I hear and feel ice being poured on me. God, that feels so good.

A/N: I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! School's almost out for the rest of the year so I can now update regularly. I must say that one good thing about a snow day is that you can get everything done before noon and have time to update before making the trek to work. -grin-

And here's my first challenge -cheers-; Write a revenge!fic that involves Max, Lydia, and shaving cream. It can be any rating, any pair, just make sure you credit the characters to whom they belong to and let me know so I can pimp the story.

Anyhoo, all Canon characters belong to Cooper/Wright, Logan belongs to James Cameron, and Lydia belongs to BiteMeTechie. Tell me what you think of the chapter.


	21. Ice Cream makes it all better

I hear a 'whap' then someone say, "Ow, that hurt."

"Well you deserved it."

"No I didn't. Now shut up, you're gonna wake her."

"So are you."

"Shut up, geek."

"You first, soldier boy."

"No you."

"No _you_."

"Do I have to separate you two?" I ask, opening my eyes and looking to see Marc on my left and Logan on my right. Ok, so I won't need to actually separate them but you get the point.

"Great now you woke her up."

"No you did."

"No _you _did."

I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. I may have to bribe someone to give me duct tape so I can shut them up. "What are you guys doing here anyways?" I ask before the fight can reduce their maturity even further.

"Same as you. Sick." Logan replies, sneezing.

"With what?"

"Apparently some kind of flu, at least that's what Carson says." Marc comments, putting his hands behind his head. "You guys must have picked it up when you were on the mainland and brought it back with you. So far everyone who was there is sick."

"If that's true then how did you guys get sick?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Maria gave it me."

"From you."

Gee, I feel so special. I'm about to say so when Carson come walking in and smiles saying, "Glad to see you up, lass."

"Are they always like this?" I ask.

Carson smiles and says, "They're almost as bad as Rodney and John."

"Hey, I resent that."

"Me too."

I just shake my head and wonder what I did to deserve this. "I get extra ice cream for this, right?" I ask while Carson just smiles.

"I take it that you're feeling better Evan." Carson says, making some notes on his clipboard.

"_Evan? Who's Evan?_" I wonder, trying to think who's here that could be an Evan.

"A bit." Marc replies, clearing his throat.

"An' how about you Logan?"

"The same."

"An' you Max?"

"Still a bit foggy." I admit.

"Good, good. I'll keep you here for a few more days, then release you." Carson says, making some final notes on his clipboard. "Now you two _behave_."

"Or what? No ice cream?" Logan asks, sniffing.

"I'll give it to Max." Carson says walking away with a grin.

Logan shoots daggers at Carson's back and I smirk. Hey, there's gotta be some reward for not killing them.

"So, first name's Evan huh?" I say to Mar-I mean Evan.

"Yea. A mix up on my records switched my first and middle name. It didn't get noticed until after everything had been processed and they've never changed it. Everyone knows that my name is really Evan but for some odd reason they continue to call me Marcus, although everyone's starting to call me Evan more." Evan says, reclining his head on his pillow.

"Why didn't you tell me? I've been calling you Marc all this time."

He shrugs and says, "Dunno, never thought about it."

"Whatever." I reply yawning. Right now I just want to curl up with the biggest, softest pillow I can find and sleep for a week. How I can still feel so sleepy is beyond me but at the moment I'm not gonna fight with it.

Closing my eyes I shift around until I feel comfortable and start drifting off to Logan and Evan arguing. I sigh, it's gonna be a long two days.

_-If I leaned and tried to kiss you Would I be wrong, after so long to kiss you Would you pretend, we're only friends, If I kissed you…-_

It's evening and I've got the munchies. Since the cafeteria is closed by now I'll have to sneak into the kitchen itself and raid the freezer. I hope that they have double chocolate chunk cookie dough ice cream. I throw a grey hoodie over my pj top; I don't think people want to see a worn out Oscar the Grouch, and slip into my blue sandals. Since it's late, the hallways are empty and I make good time to the kitchen. I test the cafeteria doors to see if they're locked and find that they're not. So I enter through those and make my way to where the kitchen is. After feeling around for the light panel and turning it on, I begin my midnight raid. I quietly hunt around for a bowl and spoon.

It takes a while and several averted crashes but I find the items and set them on a table. I then go into the freezer and, after making sure I don't lock myself in, hunt around for the ice cream. I finally find it; it's in the back and hidden behind a package of frozen peas. I brush the ice crystals off of the package and look to see what kind it is. It's Rocky Road. Not double chocolate chunk cookie dough, but it's a close second. I then make my way out of the freezer and take the lid off. There's over a half left. I pick up the spoon and start to scoop it into the bowl.

"I never thought you for a Rocky Road kind of girl." I hear Alex say behind me.

Whoops, busted. I turn around and give her a guilty smile. "Sorry." I say, sheepishly.

Alex smiles and sets a bowl and spoon down across from me while saying, "That's ok, just leave me some."

"Ok." I say, adding one last scoop to my bowl. I slide the container towards her and after catching it, she begins to scoop the rest out. After she's done Alex throws the container out, heads into the pantry, and brings out whipped cream, cherries and butterscotch syrup. "Want some?" She asks, setting the stuff down.

I shake my head and say, "No thanks, I like mine plain."

"Suit yourself." Alex says, adding the toppings to her ice cream. When she's finished she asks, "Get any packages from home?"

I shrug and say, "Not yet. I'm hoping that when the Daedalus gets back in a few weeks it'll have stuff from Christmas."

"Me too. Too bad you weren't able to go home, although I did hear something about what Logan did for you." She says, smiling.

I feel myself start to blush. "It was nice for Logan to do that for me, but he also got the kids and Laura to come along." I say, swirling my spoon around my melting Rocky Road.

"Only after you mentioned something. If I didn't know any better I'd say that Logan has a crush on you."

"What?" I ask, looking at Alex like she belongs in a nice padded room. "We're just friends. _And_ I have a boyfriend back on Earth."

"And how many times has he written you?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.

I'm silent for a minute and suddenly find my ice cream very interesting. "None." I mumble, poking at my late night snack.

"I'm sorry I didn't hear you."

"None, ok? He hasn't written me one single time. But doesn't mean anything, alright? He's busy with his construction and other things. He simply might not have time to write."

"Uh-huh." Alex says, unconvinced by my arguments. She moves her stool closer to me and says, "Take it from one who's been cheated on, sweetie. If he doesn't do what he says he'll do, he's most likely chasing skirt."

"He's not like that." I say, defending my boyfriend. "He loves me."

"They all say that they do honey. And half the time they don't mean it."

"Well he does."

"Whatever." Alex says and I know that the subject's dropped.

We sit in silence for a bit until I remember what I've been meaning to ask Alex. "I was wondering if you could tell me something." I say, picking out a chunk of chocolate and eating it.

"It depends on what it is."

"Well, you've been here a while and know everyone pretty well."

"And this has to do about..."

"About the McKay's and Beckett's."

"What about them?"

"Well the first day of school Elizabeth, Rodney, Laura, and Carson ran into each other and if looks could kill Rodney would've been dead five times over, judging by the way Laura was glaring at him. Carson hardly said anything and was really formal with Rodney while he keeps insisting that I call him Carson."

"And you want to know why the death glares from Laura?" Alex asks before I can. I nod my head and she sighs. "I guess that you'd have to know eventually. It's something that we really don't talk openly about. It's a touchy subject for all four of them."

Ok, now _that's_ got my attention. "Go on, what went on between them?" I ask, wanting the full scoop.

"Well during the second year of the expedition Laura and Rodney got stuck inside the same body."

I raise my eyebrows at that. That's one mission report I haven't read. "How did that happen?" I ask.

"Something involved with a Wraith Dart, the beaming technology, and shooting the Dart down. I don't know the specifics; it was before I came here. But anyways, they were able to separate the two and Laura and Carson began to date shortly after that. What she didn't tell him was that she was seeing Rodney at the same time."

"No." I say in a 'you've got to be kidding me' tone.

"Yup." Alex says, nodding her head. "And then she finds out she's pregnant and Carson thinks that it's his. He asks her to marry him and she agrees because she knows that she's really in love with Carson and she has no idea whose kid it really is. So she breaks up with Rodney and he takes it pretty hard. They get married and Stuart's born. Life goes along for a bit then at his first birthday party Elizabeth comments on how Stuart looks a bit like Rodney. By this time Rodney's gotten over Laura dumping him and has started to see Elizabeth.

Laura panics but keeps her cool and passes off some joke. Then she goes off world for the first time since getting pregnant and they get ambushed by the Genii. She gets wounded and when she's recovering, she thinks that Carson is Rodney and lets it slip that she has no idea who Stuart's father really is. Carson doesn't know what to think so one day he decided to do a paternity test and finds out that Rodney is really Stuart's father. He's pissed beyond all reason and goes to confront Rodney about this. He and Rodney get into an argument and Carson breaks Rodney's nose because Rodney keeps denying it. Laura tries to stop Carson but he leaves her and she gets really depressed. But they get back together. Later on down the road, Rodney talks to Laura about Stuart and finds out that to him, he's 'Uncle Rodney'. Rodney's never forgiven Laura for the 'Uncle Rodney' bit, Carson isn't over the fact that Rodney was seeing Laura the same time he was, and Laura's pissed at Rodney for not letting the whole thing go."

"So Stuart has no idea that Rodney's his father and that Kelly and Patrick are his half-siblings?"

"None what so ever."

"Wow. And I thought my family was messed up." I say.

Alex nods her head and says, "I know what you mean. Nothing puts your family into perspective like that."

Well, hey now I know why Rodney hardly picks the kids up. I put my spoon in my empty bowl, having finished my ice cream during Alex's story. I then stand and so does Alex. "Thanks for telling me." I say as she reaches for my bowl.

"No problem. Just don't let them know that I told you what happened."

"Don't worry, I won't." I say, crossing my heart with a finger. I start to yawn and realize that I'm ready to knock out for the night. "I'll see you later." I say, covering another yawn.

Alex smiles and says, "Will do."

I then exit into the hallways and make my way to my room. I head straight into my room and flop down onto my bed. I take off the sweatshirt and toss it onto the floor; I'll pick it up later. I can't help but wonder what might happen if they're forced to deal with what happened.

A/N: Would you believe that there was a completly different beginning to the first half of the chapter? 'Cause it's true, but after reading it I found it _way_ too shippy and decided to get rid of all the shippiness and throw in a little Lorne/Logan bitchiness to appease Reefgirl (she's gonna want to kill me later on, I might have to go into hiding for my own protection). I finally caved and switched to the cannon name for Lorne (I had this written out _long _before they chose a name for him). The second half was a very very quick summary of 'Dark Secret' (go read it if you haven't). SGA belongs to MGM/Wright-Cooper, Alex and Maria belong to Reefgirl, Logan belongs to James Cameron and I own whatever's left (which isn't much when you think about it).Thanks to the three reviewiers for the last chapter (aka Reefgirl, nwfairy, and Nenya). I want you -points finger at reader- to review.


	22. Mushroom haircut vs preppy look

The cafeteria is packed and I'm having a hard time finding a table with enough spots for the kids and me. And they're getting antsy. I roam my eyes around the room one more time hoping, no praying, that a table will suddenly open up. But no such luck. I sigh in frustration and open my mouth to tell the kids that we're gonna have to wait a bit before lunch.

"Max!" I hear my name being shouted over the din. "Over here!"

I see someone standing and waving their arm out of the corner of my eye. I turn to see who it is and see that it's Lydia. "What?" I shout back.

"Bring the kids over; I got the entire table saved." She says while motioning with her hand.

We make our way to the table and sit down. "Why is so crowded here?" I ask once everyone's seated and eating.

"The Daedalus got here this morning." She takes a bite of her sandwich and then says through a mouthful of BLT, "I guess that they finished unloading."

"Neat, did they already do a mail call?" I ask, smiling. I hope that there's stuff from Christmas. I can't wait to see everyone got me. Their presents had been with me on my failed attempt to go home on the Daedalus, and had stayed on Atlantis with me. So now that the Daedalus is here I can send them. Teyla took me to the Athosian settlement a few times and the last time I was there I was able to get a number of things that I'm sending as gifts. Not much, but I know that everyone's gonna love them.

"Not that I know of. Why? Expecting something special?" Lydia asks raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, they're called Christmas presents." I reply. "What about you, anything you're looking forward to?"

She nods her head and says, "Same thing as you."

"Maybe we should get the gang together and open presents together." I suggest. Hey, it beats opening them alone.

Lydia's silent for a minute, obviously thinking about it. She then takes a sip of her water and says, "Maybe."

After she speaks a young looking girl passes our table with Miko and a number of science geeks. The girl waves to Lydia and Lydia waves back. They walk off and I'm curious as to who the girl. "Who was that?"

"Chelsea McCay. Been here awhile."

"McKay?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. "There's _two_ of there here?"

Lydia laughs at me and says, "No, thank God. She spells it C-a-y, not K-a-y."

"Oh. She looks a bit young to be here." I mention as I watch her walk into the hallway. "How old is she?"

"Not even twenty; she's one of those child geniuses. Went to college when she was fifteen. Miko told me that she's great at engineering and actually built her own car when she was fourteen."

"So why is she here?"

Lydia shrugged and said, "You got me. The SGC must have noticed how smart she was and wanted to pick her up before the NID did." The second Lydia said those words her eyes went wide and she sucks in a breath.

Ok, _that_ got my attention. "What's NID?" I ask. Sounds like an 80's band.

"Nothing that you need to know." She says hurriedly. "Don't forget that we're watching 'Dark Angel' tonight. Second season."

"But-" I say as Lydia gets up from the table. "what's NID?" I finish, talking to myself. The kids and I finish up lunch and head on back to the classroom. We reach the room with little trouble (however crowded the hallway is) and the afternoon passes by quietly. The only thing that I notice is that I have to watch the kids a bit longer than normal, again. Not to long, we were halfway through dinner when they show up, well everyone except Evan and Rodney. Apparently they're still working. On what I don't know. It's not like they're gonna tell me because that would actually make sense. The adults grab dinner and sit down with us so we're like one big family.

"So where did you go to school?" Elizabeth asks, handing Kelly her glass before she tips it over.

"I went to a community college for my Associates and then to Colorado State for my Masters." I reply. "I lived in the dorms at State since it's so far from Springs."

"Then how did you meet Dr. Jackson if you went to State?" John asks.

"Through mutual friends. I was home during winter break and there was a party at P3 and they invited me to go. I agreed and when they picked me up Daniel was with them. At the club Daniel and I started talking and we learned that we both frequent the same coffee shop, Victor's, but have never run into each other. We ended up talking the entire time and made plans to meet at the shop later on in the week. It ended up being a ritual when ever I was in town and we became fast friends. He thought that it was great that I was working with little kids and until just before I came I wondered why the Air Force wanted with an archeologist."

By the time that we finish eating Evan still hasn't joined up so I radio him and ask him if he's going to be much later. He admits that he doesn't know how much longer he'd be and asked if I could watch Maria. I agree, I love the kid to pieces but sometimes I feel like I'm her parent instead of Evan.

Don't get me wrong, I can't begin to understand what Evan does here, but it seems that there are times when he has all the time in the world and then suddenly he hardly has time to even pick her up. Sometimes I wonder how that's affecting Maria.

_-Why do you tell me only things I want to hear why don't you tell me this could just disappear…-_

Maria and I leave the cafeteria and head to the rec room with a stop off at Evan's quarters to get Maria changed into her pj's. We arrive at the room the same time as everyone else and Crysta holds up the DVD case. "Ready?"

"Sure, what eps. are we going to watch?" I ask, settling down next to Maria on the couch.

"I dunno, any preferences?"

"Anything except 'Berrisford Agenda'. As much as I love to watch Alec be all 'emo boy' I want something funny."

"What about 'Boo'?" Lydia suggests.

I smile and nod my head, "Yea that's a good one. How about 'Fuhgeddaboudit'? Another classic funny."

"Don't forget 'Medium is the Message'? Funny and serious at the same time." Crysta says, opening the case.

" 'Freak Nation' is another good one; the fight at the end is awesome."

"Yea Lita was kick ass."

"So what'll it be first?"

" 'Boo' first." I say.

"Sounds good to me." Lydia says.

"Coolie." Crysta says, putting in the disc. She then sits down on the floor in front of Lydia who is on the other side of me. "Why do I have to sit on the floor?" she asks as the Manticore symbol pops up on the screen.

"No one said you had to, you sat down there of your own free will." Lydia said, dropping popcorn on Crysta's head. "You can join us on this nice comfy couch."

"How? It's designed for three and there are three on it right now."

"We can shift around." I say, sitting up. "Wanna sit on my lap, Maria?"

" 'K." she says, climbing onto me. We both shift around for a few seconds, trying to get comfortable and she ends up reclining on me at a slight angle with her head resting against my shoulder.

"There," I say as Crysta stands. "Now there's space for you."

"Thanks." She says, sitting down. "Now then let the laughter begin." Crysta then hit's play and the episode begins.

-"_So, you got candy? 'Cause me and my crew here got a carton of eggs."-_

"What's up with those glasses?" Crysta asks when Michael Weatherly's character comes on screen. "I mean he's got the nice streamlined glasses and then suddenly he's wearing old people glasses."

"Shhh!" Lydia says, shushing us.

Crysta just rolls her eyes and continues her rant. "And while we're at it, what's up with the mushroom haircut and the scraggly beard? The first season he had a nice preppy hair cut and the scruffy look worked for him. Now it's like he doesn't care what he looks like."

I shrug my shoulder and say, "Well he was going undercover for Asha in 'Designate This'. I mean, it's kinda hard to sell the rugged vet when you're clean shaven and have nice looking glasses."

"Shhh!" Lydia says, throwing popcorn at Crysta.

"Hey, what was that for?"

"For not shutting up. Now watch the rest of the episode quietly." Lydia said, turning her attention back to the TV screen.

-"_Do not attempt to adjust your set. This is a streaming freedom video bulletin. _The _cable hack will last exactly sixty seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped, and it is the only free voice left in this city."-_

"You know doesn't Michael Weatherly's character look a lot like Logan?" Lydia says, looking at the frozen screen. We paused it for a break and had just sat back down on the sofa.

Crysta and I look at the screen for a bit, considering what Lydia said. "Nah." I say after a bit. "Logan's better looking and the scruffy look works for him."

"You're right." Crysta agrees. "Logan is _defiantly_ better looking and he doesn't have the whole 'can't touch my girlfriend or I'll die' problem."

Lydia shrugs her shoulders and says, "Whatever, it was just an observation."

"Ok enough talking," I say grabbing the remote. "let's watch the rest of 'Fuhgeddaboudit'."

-"_Oh! Ooh, ooh--you know what? The big gargantuan impasto strokes--loved 'em. Get crazy. Go on. Do it up. Do it up. Get crazy, dog-boy. Joshua, get crazy…"-_

We finish 'Medium is the Message' and by that time Maria is asleep and even I'm finding it hard to stay awake. I stand with Maria in my arms (not an easy feat) and tell Lydia and Crysta good-night. I then carry her to Evan's quarters where the door slides open for me. Hmm, Evan must have had some program it so I didn't have to bother Zelenka or Lydia whenever I needed to go in there. I step inside and head directly to Maria's room. I then pull back the covers with one hand and lay her down on her bed. She stirs a bit when I let go. I smile and whisper while brushing a strand of hair out of her face, "Don't worry, you're home."

"Night." She mumbles, turning over so that her back it to me.

I stand there for a second, watching her sleep. She looks so peaceful there, sleeping in her bed surrounded by familiar things and people that love her and would do anything to protect her. After awhile I quietly exit her room and head to the living room. I sit down and lean my head against the back of the couch. Mmmmmm, that feels good.

I close my eyes and relax. I stifle a yawn, open my eyes and sit up. It wouldn't be good if I fell asleep on Evan's couch while waiting for him to get back from whatever it is he's doing. I'm alert for all of five seconds and then start to drift off again. "_Five minutes of shut eye._" I tell myself as I settle down onto the couch. "_Five minutes and then I'll open a window to keep me awake._"

A/N: I just had to. The fact that I brought Logan Cale into my story just begged that I have a chapter about him in 'Dark Angel'. That and I'm riding high from the other day when Sci-fi ran a DA mini-marathon. -grin- I'm a hopeless Logan fan. Chelsea belongs to nwfairy, Crysta belongs to Nenya, Lydia belongs to Techie, Maria is owned by Reefgirl, Logan Cale and all things Dark Angel belongs to James Cameron, I own Max, P3 belongs to 'Charmed' and all cannon places, things and people belong to Wright-Cooper. Review.


	23. Of coffee and football

I smell the sent of coffee being brewed and I think, "_When did I make a pot?_" I open my eyes and see that I'm not in my bed. I'm still in Evan and Maria's quarters. I sit up and stretch, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"Morning." I hear Evan say.

"Morning." I say, standing. God, I must look like such a mess right now. My hair is always frizzy and wild when I first wake up and I haven't had any caffeine yet so my mind is a little slow. I automatically pull back my hair but realize that I don't have a hair tie. Damn.

"You were out cold when I got back and didn't think you wanted to be woken up." He says, walking over to the perking pot of coffee. "Hope you slept alright."

I nod my head and say, "I did, thanks for asking."

"No problem. Decaf or regular?"

"Regular, gotta have that caffeine in the morning."

"Good, 'cause that's all I got." Evan then takes the pot off and pours coffee into two mugs. Holding one out to me he says, "There's cream and sugar if you want any."

"Thanks." I say moving for them. I can't stand the taste of plain coffee, gotta have a lot of sugar and cream in mine. After doctoring my coffee, I take a sip and smile. "Mmmm, that's good stuff."

Evan laughs and says, "Yea we live on the stuff here."

"With your hours I believe it." I turn to look at out the window and am greeted to a rising sun and a range of colors. We then both walk on over to the window and stare out at the water glinting in the sunlight.

"She adores you." Evan suddenly says.

"I'm sorry?" I say, not sure what he's talking about.

"Maria. She adores you." He repeats. "I'm sure you noticed how she acted when you were trying to make the Daedalus. She's never done that before with anyone else."

I smile and say, "Well, I adore her right back and she's special. They all are, when you think about it. To raise kids in a place surrounded by danger is no easy feat. I'm surprised that they're so well adjusted as they are." I say, holding my mug of coffee in both hands and looking at Marc while leaning sideways against the glass. It's cool to my touch and I can't help but wonder how cold it is outside.

Evan smiles and says, "We try to shield them from as much as we can. It's not easy, I'll tell you that, and there are something's that we have to sacrifice-"

"Like time with them." I say, knowing that that was what he was going to say. He nods his head and takes a sip from his mug, as do I.

"That's true; there are times that I think about asking for a transfer back to the SGC and taking Maria with me so I'd be around more."

He hesitates and I know what he's trying to say. "But you don't because you go through the Gate and you see all sorts of amazing things and realize that by fighting all the evil out there you're making this place that much better for Maria to grow up in."

He smiles and says, "That's right. How do you know so much? It's like you're reading my mind."

I laugh at the comment and say, "Believe me if I was reading your mind you'd know it. All parents want to do anything to make where ever they live a better place for their kids to grow up in."

"And how do you know that? Is there something that didn't come up on your background checks?"

I raise an eyebrow at that. "And how would you know if there's something missing from my background checks?" I ask.

"I'm head of security. I get to look at the SGC's _many_ background checks before any new personnel even sets foot on Atlantis."

I smile cryptically and say, "No, there's nothing missing from my background checks." We're silent for bit after that, each lost in our own thoughts. Before we can talk further Maria comes out of her room in her pj's, looking adorable. She spots Evan and breaks into a grin. She then runs towards him and hugs his leg while saying, "Daddy!"

Evan looks down at Maria and smiles. "Hey kiddo," he says ruffling her already slightly mussed hair. "you sleep good?"

"Yup. Max let me stay up and watch the dancing dog boy." She says, still hugging his legs.

Evan looks at me with confusion on his face and mouths, "dancing dog boy?"

"We watched the second season of 'Dark Angel' last night and one of the characters was a dog boy." I clarify.

"Joshua, yea I remember the show." He says, the confusion clearing up. "Did you know that they cancelled the show to air 'Firefly'?"

"Yup. Kind of ironic isn't it?" I say.

"How so?"

"Well, 'Dark Angel' got cancelled so FOX could air a show that only lasted not even half a season."

"Yea that is kind of-"

"Daddy." Maria says, tugging on his BDU pants and interrupting him mid-sentence.

"What sweetheart?" he asks, looking down.

"I'm hungry. When can we get breakfast?"

We both smile at her comment and Evan says, "When you go get dressed."

" 'K." she says, running back into her room.

I laugh and say, "She's adorable, I'll give you that." Gone was the shy little girl.

"Oh you should have seen it when we first brought her here. I was surrounded by ladies whenever we were in the cafeteria. They just couldn't stay away from me."

I roll my eyes at the last statement. "I hate to break it to you, but they were only using you to get to Maria."

"Oh, that hurts." Evan says, pretending to be wounded.

"I'm dressed!" Maria says, bolting out of her room. Going up to Evan, she grabs his hand and starts to tug on it. "Can we go now?"

Evan laughs and says, "Ok, ok." He allows himself to be dragged to the door and I follow. After we enter the hallway Evan turns to me and says, "Want to join us?"

"Thanks, but I've got to go back to my place and get ready for the day. There's never any rest for us teachers you know. Unlike you security guys, just sitting around watching monitors, spying on us working people." I tease.

Evan grins and says, "You better believe it lady. We see all kinds of things."

"Ooooo, I'm so scared." I reply, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

Evan opens his mouth to reply when Maria shouts, "Daddy!"

"Ok, ok. We're going." He says. "See you later."

"Later." I say as they walk off towards the cafeteria. I head back to my room and once I'm inside I turn on the shower and get ready for the day ahead. As I'm showering I can't help but wonder why all of a sudden Evan is opening up to me, he's always been on the reserved side when we've talked. I shrug it off, maybe it's because he sees how taken Maria is with me. Yea, that's it. What other reason could there be?

_-And it's something quite peculiar Something that's shimmering and white Leads you here despite your destination Under the milky way tonight...-_

"This really sucks." Crysta says to me as we walk down the hallway. It's grey and raining outside, the rain pelting against the windows.

"How so?" I ask. I love the rain, especially when there's thunder and lightning. There's just something about it that I find captivating. Although it's a bitch when you're trying to sleep.

"Well it's raining, for one thing, and-"

"Heads up!"

I look up and see a football headed towards me and Crysta. Crysta scrambles out of the way while I just stand there and catch the ball. "Who threw this?" I ask the group of Marines just ahead of us.

"That would be me." I hear Evan say, stepping out of the crowd and holding his hands out. "Toss it back."

"You know," I reply as I spiral it back to him. "your aim sucks and you throw like a girl."

Evan catches the ball with ease and says, "So do you."

"That's 'cause I _am_ one, what's your excuse?"

The Marines laugh at that one and Evan just smirks. "You play?"

"Haven't for a while, why?" I ask, thinking that he's up to something.

"Well we were going to play a little flag football but we have an odd number. Want to join?"

"Flag or contact?"

"Flag, Carson would have our heads if we played contact."

"What the hell, I'm in. Shirts vs. skins I take it."

"Of course, you want to be skin?" Evan asks with a smile.

I roll my eyes, "You wish."

"Fine you'll be shirt. Be on the South Balcony in a half-hour."

"See you there."

Evan and the Marines head off while Crysta asks, "Are you sure you want to do this?" "Why not?"

"Other than the fact that you could end up with a concussion or something broken? The whole thing's so _violent_."

"Well duh. But rugby's worse than football. And you're more likely to die from boxing injuries than football injuries." I point out. "So I take it you're not going to watch?"

"Couldn't even if I wanted to. Research calls."

"That's one reason I didn't become a science major, you're always doing research."

"And one reason I didn't become a teacher is that you're always doing paperwork."

"Ooo, your razor sharp wit astounds me." I deadpan.

"As does yours." Crysta replies. As we pass a window I see that the rain has stopped but it's still cloudy outside. At the intersection we part and I stop off at my place, to change into some more comfortable clothes, and then start to make my way over.

The door to the transporter slides open and I see that Logan's inside. "Hey." I say, stepping in.

"Sparring session with Teyla?"

"If I had a death wish, some guys are going to play football and I'm joining."

"Really, where?"

"South Balcony, why?" I say, my eyes wandering over the map of Atlantis looking for the balcony. I see Logan's hand come into my line of sight and press down on the map. Then a flash of light and we're there. I turn around to find Logan in front of me, his arm against the wall.

"Just wondering." Logan says, smiling.

I feel my cheeks start to heat up and I smile nervously. The doors open and I'm grateful for the rush of cool air. "Wh-what a-about, uh, you?" I stammer out. "Where are, uh, you headed?"

"The same."

"Oh, you're playing?" I ask stepping out of the transporter.

"Nope, working." Logan replies, walking with me.

"And what do computers possibly have to do with the Marina?" Evan says coming up behind us, football in hand. He smiles at me and says, "Hey Max."

"Hey."

"Major." Logan says in restrained voice, losing the smile he had on since I saw him in the transporter.

"Cale." Evan replies in the same tone, the smile gone from his face as well. "So what _exactly_ are you doing here, Cale?"

"Like I told Max, work. You know what most of us here do." Logan replies.

"At least _I _know how to have fun." Evan snarks.

"And _I _don't just sitting around watching monitors all day." Logan retorts back.

I raise an eyebrow at the exchange. Where did this all come from?

But before Evan can snap back, Logan turns to me and says, "Later."

"Later." I say slightly confused. Logan takes off with one last dirty look towards Evan.

"Everyone here?" I ask, grabbing the football and walking backwards.

"Yea, although you're gonna have to be a sub. Lewis had to drop out at the last moment." Evan says, following me.

"Aw, that sucks." I say. Then it hits me. I toss the ball back to Evan and say, "Be back in a minute."

"Where you going?" I hear Evan shout as I jog down the hallway.

"To get an even number." I yell back. I round the corner and find Logan working away at a console. "You play football?" I ask, leaning on it.

"Used to, why?" Logan replies without looking up.

"We need an extra for the game and since you happen to be in the area-"

"You want me to play." Logan finishes for me. He looks me in the eye and I flash him a smile.

"Pretty please with sugar on top?" I ask, giving him the 'puppy dog' look.

Logan laughs, "I have five nieces and they all use that look on me; I'm immune to it."

"Dang." I give him a mock pout. "But will you?"

"Don't know how this is going to take, sorry."

"Oh, didn't hurt to ask did it?"

"Nope. See you later?"

"Sure." I reply, slightly disappointed; I was looking forward to playing with Logan. I make my way back to the balcony and join the guys.

"Didn't want to play huh?" Evan says, coming up to me.

"Too busy." I reply, shrugging and determined not to let it get to me.

"Oh well, I got Anderson to sub so you can play." Evan says as we walk out onto the balcony. "Although you'll have to be skins."

"Excuse me?" I ask, stopping and raising an eyebrow.

Evan turns around, "I tried to get one of the guys to switch but couldn't." he says, an innocent look on his face.

"Uh-huh." I say, not convinced. "Fine with me."

Now it's Evan's turn to look surprised. "Really?"

"Really." I say, turning around. Fortunately I have an undershirt on. I take the shirt off and turn around to see Evan's crestfallen face. "Oh get over it, I'm still skin." I say, throwing my shirt at him. It hits him in the face and he catches it as it falls; I just smile and walk away. By that time the other Marines see me and I get a chorus of whistles and catcalls.

I smirk and say, "In your dreams boys. Now are we gonna play or what?"

_-They only want you when you're seventeen When you're twenty-one you're no fun They take a Polaroid and let you go Say that they'll let you know So come on...-_

"Oof!" I trip and hit the floor, sliding a bit. But I pop back up, none worse for the wear. And I caught the ball so it's all good.

The ball is snapped for the next play and I run forwards, weaving between the Marines. However I can't get clear in time so the ball's thrown to someone else and it's intercepted. Damn, we were only a few yards from a TD. We get ready for a new play when I glance over to the side and see Logan.

"Time!" I yell as I jump up and head over to where Logan is. "Hey."

"Hey, can I still play?" Logan asks, smiling.

"Sorry we just got an even number." I hear Evan say behind me. "Maybe if you had shown up at the beginning you could've played."

"Didn't I just see LeHay just leave?" I ask.

"Yea, he left about a minute ago. Why?"

I give Evan a 'how dense are you' look and say, "Logan can take his place."

"Oh. If he wants to."

"Of course. Shirt or skin?"

"Shirt." Evan replies, shoving the football at Logan's stomach. "That ok with you?"

"Yea, that's fine." Logan said, catching the ball before it hurt him. "What's up with him?"

"Got me." I say, wondering what's gotten into Evan as well. But I let it go and grab Logan's hand, pulling him towards the guys. "Enough talking, let's play."

We walk back and the game continues. Logan's team manages to score a TD and the extra point. On the second play for my team there was another interception and turnover. Logan gave up QB to another player and ends up rushing. As we're playing I can't help but notice how he seems to get the most tags and a few hits that no one else but me seems to see. I ask Evan about it and he claims innocence, but I have my doubts.

My team manages an interception of our own when Logan's team is at the five yard mark and we get the ball. It's snapped and I go running for it. I manage to catch it and run; I'm able to get past the defense and make a run for the goal line. Logan makes a grab for me and, laughingly, I doge him and continue on my way towards the line. I glance behind my shoulder to see who's behind me; Logan, Evan, and a few others. I'm not worried about Logan or Evan, they're not going to be able to catch me, but there's one Marine who's right behind me. I speed up and face forwards in time to see another Marine in front of me. I try to stop but my feet slip and I careen forwards. I yelp and plow into him. We go down and I hit the floor hard, then I feel someone on top of me. Fortunately that person's only on me for a few seconds and I roll off of the Marine that I ran into.

Ow, I feel like I've run into a parked car.

"Max!" I hear Logan say.

"You ok?" Evan asks, both of them coming over to me.

I shake my head to clear it, and realize that that wasn't the best thing to do. "I'm fine." I say, holding out my arms for them to help me up. They each grab one and pull me up. I sway a bit, trying to regain my balance.

"You sure?" Logan asks, concern on his face.

I smile and say, "Yea, just as soon as there's one of you."

"Maybe you should go down to sick bay." He says, taking my arm.

"No really, I was kidding." I say, somewhat lying. For a moment there _were_ two Logan's.

"Still you should go just to be on the safe side."

"Hey, if she says she's fine then she's fine." Evan says, in a defensive tone.

"She could have a concussion, you stop to think about that?" Logan shoots back.

"And you could be overprotective, _you _think about that?" Evan retorts, grabbing Logan's arm.

Logan lets go of me and shoves Evan away. Evan shoves right back and soon they're in a shoving match.

"Hey!" I shout. When that doesn't work, I raise my fingers to my lips and whistle. They stop and look at me. "I'm _fine_, a few aspirin and I'm good. Just let me know when you two can act your age." I then walk past them and pick up my shirt on the way inside. Stepping inside the transporter, I turn around and can't help but smile at their bewildered looks.

A/N: Longish post this time around and some random 'Dark Angel' Factoids for ya. I thought that it'd be nice to have some more Cale/Lorne bitchiness, thus the football incident was created. For those who are football illiterate 'TD' is TouchDown and QB is 'QuarterBack'. Crysta is owned by Nenya, Maria is owned by Reefgirl, Logan is property of James Cameron, and I own Max, leaving everything else to MGM/Cooper-Wright. Tell me what you think of the chapter.


	24. It's not babysitting

I hear the doors swish open and turn around to see Maria entering the room with Evan just behind her. I've long since forgiven him for the football incident with Logan (who could stay mad at a face like that?) so I smile and say, "Hey there."

He returns my smile and says, "Hey back."

"You're here early." I notice. Usually the others arrive before or the same time as them.

"Yea, about that...there's something I want to ask you." Evan says, suddenly becoming uneasy.

"Sure, what?" I ask, sitting down on an edge of my desk.

"Well, I have to go off world for a few days and I was wondering if you'd watch Maria for me. It'd be for two nights, three tops."

I smile and nod my head. "I'd love to." I say.

Evan smiles and says, "Thanks. We're going to be checking in daily so you can ask me any questions if any thing comes up."

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. When do you leave?"

"In two days, I wanted to ask you ahead of time in case you couldn't."

"Now why would I do that? You know that I adore Maria." I say, smiling.

"I know, I just didn't know if you wanted to baby-sit again. I know that we've stuck you with the kids a lot in the past."

I shake my head and say, "Don't worry about it; Dr. Weir told me that that might happen. Part of the job. Besides, I don't think of it as babysitting."

Evan opens his mouth to reply but then the door opens and in come Jason and Jamie grinning from ear to ear with John behind them.

"Max!" Jamie says, running over to me. "Look at this!"

"What you got there?" I ask, kneeling to get a closer look.

"Mommy gave it to me," she says, holding out her hand. In it is a small necklace, a light brown color. "She said that when you hold it and make a wish the Ancestors hear it and if you wish hard enough then it'll come true."

I smile; it looks so delicate, yet sturdy at the same time, and wonderful. "Well that's very special. Why don't we put it in a safe place so it won't get lost?" I say, holding out my hand to take it.

Jamie seems to hesitate and looks up at John, asking a silent question. He nods and says, "I think that that's a good idea. You don't want to lose it the first day you've had it, do you?"

Jamie shakes her head and hands it to me. I smile and stand to put it on my desk. As I do I realize that Evan is gone. He must have left when I was distracted with Jamie. I feel slightly disappointed that he left with out saying that he'd see me later.

_-This Ocean Drive Is doing me just fine 'Cause after leaving tonight I'm all tensed up inside…-_

It's 5:30am and that's early even for me. But I'm up this early by choice; Evan is leaving today and I wanted to say goodbye before he Gates to wherever his team is going. Maria is still sleeping in her room. "You sure that you're ok with me staying here?" I ask, as Evan walks into the living room with his pack. " 'Cause it'd be no trouble to have her stay at my place."

"Really it's no problem. I've even cleaned up for you, to show that I'm not just a pretty face." He says, teasing me.

"I already knew _that_." I tease back. "If you insist..."

"I do, now stop asking me." He says, hefting his pack onto his back. "We're checking in at twenty one-thirty tonight and I've already cleared it with Dr. Weir so you can talk to me if you want to. Maria as well if she's still up."

"Will do, although I think that she might be asleep by then. I'll see how the day goes." I say.

"Sounds good. I'll talk to you then." He says walking towards the door. The door opens and he pauses, turning around before exiting. "See you later." He says, flashing me a trademark smile.

I smile in return and say, "Stay safe."

"Will do." He then turns back around and heads out the doorway.

As he leaves I can't help but get a sinking feeling in my stomach. Something feels hinky, but I can't put a finger on it. I shrug it off as paranoia and hop into the shower to get ready for the day

The next few days pass relatively quiet, I talk to Evan the first night he's gone but miss the second check in because Maria, Alex, Lydia and myself were watching 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' and laughing helplessly at "No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!"

But for some reason the sinking feeling hasn't gone away; it's only gotten stronger each day that Evan's gone. It's strange, I know, but I can't help but feel that something is wrong and there's nothing I can do to stop it.

_Somewhere along in the bitterness And I would have stayed up with you all night Had I known how to save a life…_

It's afternoon and the kids (save Maria) have been picked up. I suggest that we do something fun; one last jaunt before daddy comes home. Maria seems excited at the prospect of doing something fun so we head down to the main corridors. There's an activities board that someone put up the second year of the expedition and there are notices about all sorts of stuff. We head over to the board and that's where we are when the 'Gate Activation' alarm goes off. I ignore it; it's always going off and Evan is scheduled to return today. "_Look's like they got back early._" I think, glossing over the 'Bungee Jumping off the North Balcony' notice.

But then a voice, Chuck's I think, calls out, "Med team to the Gate room."

That can't be good. I sigh, I guess that I should see if Carson needs me to watch Stuart; Laura's off world at the moment as well, but with a different team. I take Maria's hand and as we head down the hallway I activate my headset and call for Carson. "Do you need me to watch Stuart for you?" I ask.

"_Thank you, but Katie Brown's already wit' him._" He says. "_Now if ye don' mind…_"

"Say no more. I know that you're gonna be busy." I say. I look down at Maria and say, "How about we get some ice cream? I think Alex has some stashed away just for us."

"Really?" Maria asks, grinning.

I smile as well and laugh. "I think so." We head down the hallway, towards the transporter when there's yelling for people to get out of the way; Carson and his team are coming through and they've got wounded. I move with Maria to the side, and wait as they race down the hallway with gurneys. I can't help but wonder who got hurt. The first one passes but I don't see who it is because Steve and Melissa block my view. I get a clear look of the second person and I wish that I hadn't. It's Evan.

He looks horrible; dirt all over his face, his camo ripped and bloodstained. As they roll past I see blood on the left side of his face and guess that there's a gash on that side as well. He's unconscious, and looks deathly pale. I move to put my hands over Maira's eyes so she doesn't see him like that, but I'm too slow. She already has.

"Daddy!" she cries out, letting go of my hand and starting towards him.

I go after her and grab onto her before she's able to get to far.

"No!" she cries out, tears falling on her face. "Let me go!"

"Maria, I can't." I say calmly, blinking back tears.

"No!" she yells, struggling to get out of my grip. "Daddy needs me!"

I hold onto Maria and pull her close, kneeling as I do. "I know, sweetie. I know." I sooth.

"No you don't." She says, sniffling. "Let me go!"

I don't say anything, there's nothing that I feel will reassure her that everything will be alright. Maria gives into the tears and cries. I hold her and do my best to comfort her. But it's hard because I can't help but feel that Maria is about to become an orphan a second time.

A/N: -insert something witty- See the previous chapters for discalimer. R&R.


	25. Dealing?

"Max?"

I shift around, not wanting to wake up.

"Max?" the soft lilting voice says again. A hand touches my shoulder and gently shakes it.

I open my eyes and see that Carson's standing over me. The past hours replay in my mind and I realize that I must have fallen asleep waiting for Carson to come out of the infirmary to tell me what was going on. I blink and sit up as best I can without waking Maria, who is fast asleep in my arms. "How bad?" I ask.

Carson shakes his head and says, "Too early to tell lass. He's still unconscious. Will be for who knows how long. All I can tell ye is that he's not out of the woods yet."

I sigh. "Thanks Carson." I say, thinking of nothing else to say.

Carson smiles and runs a hand down Maria's hair, smoothing it down. "Anythin' Laura n' I can do for the lass?" He asks.

I shake my head and say, "No. Thanks though. I'll continue to watch her."

" 'Course." Carson says, stuffing his hands in his lab coat pockets. "Well, if there's anythin' you need don't hesitate to ask Laura or me."

I nod my head in understandment. "Thanks." I pause, not sure if I should even ask the question. I decide to despite the rather large chance that he'll say no. "Can we see him?"

Carson hesitates and seems to be thinking. I look at him hoping, no praying, that he'll say yes. After what seems like forever but in reality is a minute or two, Carson says, "Only for a minute."

I smile, "Thanks." I then gently shake Maria's shoulder and say softly, "Maria, wake up."

"Don't wanna." She mumbles, shifting.

"Want to see you dad?"

Maria's eyes flutter open and she sits up, looking at Carson. "Really?" she asks.

"Only for a minute though, lass."

Maria jumps up and I stand as well, stretching. I take her hand and we silently enter through the doors. Carson leads us down the row of beds, towards the windows. He steps behind a curtain partition and we follow him. There Marc is, lying on the bed.

Like Carson said, he's unconscious. There is a bandage covering his forehead, his right arm is wrapped in an ace bandage, there are stitches above his left eye and on his cheek, and there are a lot of bruises. It looks like he took quite a beating. It's silent except for the 'beep beep' of the heart monitor. At least that lets us know that he's still alive.

Maria's silent, staring at Evan. She then turns around and asks Carson, "When's daddy gonna wake up?"

Carson smiles softly and says, "I don't know lass. But don' you worry your little head, I'm gonna take good care of him."

"You promise?"

"I promise." Carson says, glancing at the clock at the wall. "Time for you to leave so we don't bother you dad any more than we have to."

"He knows that we're here?" Maria asks, her eyes sparking with hope.

"Some people think so." I say distractedly.

Half way there Maria falls asleep and I carry her the rest of the way. Entering my place, I make my way to the couch and set her down on it. She slightly stirs but doesn't wake up. I grab a blanket and cover Maria with it. I then walk into my room and lay down on the bed, waiting for sleep to come. But it doesn't.

Instead I stare at the ceiling, my mind reeling.

I don't want Evan to die.

_-So many tears I've cried for you A Million tears that I have cried, I wish you where right by my side…-_

"Maria, you ready?" I call out, sticking my head into the bedroom. It's been a week since Evan had been brought back and his condition hasn't improved. Carson says that there's nothing to worry about, but if that was true then wouldn't he wake up?

"Not yet."

I sigh and run a hand through my hair, we're gonna be late. Again. I turn around and let my gaze wander around the room and involuntary flinch.

My other wise clean place now looks like a war zone. Clothes draped everywhere, pillows and blankets resting haphazardly on the couch, papers and books are perched in precarious piles that look like they're gonna topple just by someone looking at them.

Ok, so taking care of Maria for an extended period of time is harder than it sounded but I'm dealing. I think.

I hear Maria coming out of the room and turn to see if she's dressed. She is, but her hair is doing a rather good impression of Martin Lloyd's hair from 'Back to the Future'. "Why didn't you brush your hair?" I ask.

"Couldn't find one." She says, shrugging her shoulders.

I sigh and glance at my watch. We have five minutes before we're late. New plan: get going and brush her hair in the classroom. "Ok, where's the last time you remember seeing one?" I ask, starting to look around the room.

"I dunno." Maria replies.

Great help. I rush around the room, trying to quickly find one and run all the way to the room. I'm picking up clothes, but am throwing them back down when I see that there's no brush or comb or hair grooming device to be found under them. After three minutes of not finding it, I frak it and grab our stuff.

I'm pushing Maria out the door when the top to my backpack opens up and stuff spills out. It takes all my restraint not to openly curse in front of her and I bend down to pick up the papers and such. But on the plus side, I found a brush.

How it got into my backpack in the first place I don't know, but I don't dwell. I have too much to think about at the moment. Like if Elizabeth is going to have a "talk" with me for being late almost every day this week.

We take a transporter to the classroom hallway and are walking towards the room when Maria says, "We didn't get anything to eat."

I sigh and cast my eyes upward. I _knew_ I had forgotten something. Oh, well we were running late anyways so even if I hadn't wasted time looking for a brush we wouldn't have had time to grab something anyways. We pause in front of the classroom door and I rummage through my backpack hoping that there was a breakfast bar in there. I hit pay dirt and pull one out. I hand it to her and she makes a face but takes it anyways.

"What?" I ask. "I thought that you liked 'em."

"It's not strawberry. I like the strawberry ones."

"Oh, well. Take it or wait until lunch." I say, my patience wearing thin. Maria makes a face but opens the wrapper. I thought so.

I push Maria forward so the door opens and we walk inside to see that we're the first ones there. Sweet, we're not the only ones running late today. My mood slightly improves at that fact and I drop my backpack down by my desk and I plop down into the chair. I sit for a few seconds and then sit up and grab my pack, rummaging through it until I find the hairbrush. Pulling it out I say, "Maria let me brush your hair."

"Ok."

Once she's by me I turn her around so that her back is towards me. I then start to brush her hair.

"Ow." Maria says when I hit a rather nasty tangle and she pulls away from me. "That hurts."

"I know, so stay still." I say, pulling her back. The door swishes open and I glance over to see who's arrived. It's the Sheppard's, Beckett's, and McKay's.

"Sorry," Laura says as the door closes. "we all got a late start this morning."

"That's ok, so did we." I say, continuing to brush Maria's a hair. She squirms away from me and I pull her back towards me.

Fortunately I don't have much hair left and I finish in a few seconds. Maria scampers off towards the rest of the kids and I lean back in the chair. Not even five minutes with the kids and I'm already worn out.

"Max, could we talk to you about something?" Elizabeth asks. John and Laura have left leaving just Elizabeth and Carson.

"Sure." I say, standing. I have an inkling about what it's going to be. I make my way over to them and before they can talk say, "Listen I'm sorry about being late most of this week, I'm trying really hard to make it on time but-"

Elizabeth holds up a hand cutting me off. "It's not about that, it's something else."

"Um, ok. What is it then?" I ask.

"We're worried about you, lass." Carson says. "From what we've seen this week it's lookin' like you're workin' yourself to exhaustion. This must be hard for you; we know how close you were ta Major Lorne-"

"We're friends, that's all." I protest.

"No one's saying otherwise." Elizabeth says in that diplomatic way of hers. "We're just concerned that you might be stretching yourself too thin. We want to let you know that Maria can stay with both of our families while you take some time for yourself."

"I'm fine really I am." I say. I knew all of that, they had said so in the first few days of this but I insisted that she stay with me. I guess that Maria helps me deal with it.

"You say that you are, yet you've been late most of this week." Elizabeth says. "That's why Carson and Laura are taking Maria tonight, Rodney and I will take her tomorrow night, and John and Teyla will take her for the weekend. You're to rest and get things under control."

"Is that an order?" I ask. I'm not trying to be difficult or anything, just trying to clarify the issue.

"Aye, from me and Elizabeth." Carson says. "I don' want you in my infirmary from lack of sleep."

I sigh, and say, "Alright if it's an order."

"We just want to help." Elizabeth says, giving me a comforting smile.

I weakly return it and say, "I know."

"Then let us take her."

I sigh, knowing that it's a hopeless to fight it. Come to think of it, I _have_ been feeling a bit run down lately. I guess that having some time to myself will be good. After I grudgingly agree, Elizabeth and Carson then leave.

The day passes fairly quickly and it seems that in no time everyone's gone and it's just me in the classroom. I fiddle around the room for a bit; straightening this, picking up that. After realizing that I was just killing time, I head on out determined to take Elizabeth's and Carson's advice and relax, having some "me time". But I'm at a loss as to what to do; I'm used to taking care of Maria. I guess that I never realized how much apart of my day was spent with her.

I exit into the hallway and head over to my room. When I enter, I notice how quiet it feels without having Maria around. There's almost a tomb-like silence to it and it's creeping me out. So to get rid of the graveyard feeling, I get some music playing. In keeping with the emo-feeling of the past week, I put on some Dashboard Confessional.

Softly humming along to 'Vindicated' I change into comfortable clothes and feeling infinitely more relaxed than I have been, flop down onto my bed and grab the book on my nightstand. My hand brushes over my alarm clock and it beeps at me, letting me know that I've set it for the next morning. Score, one less thing for me to do tonight.

I get comfortable and open the book, starting to read. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know my alarm's going off and I'm still in the clothes I had changed into. I slap it shut and get up to get ready for the day.

A/N: I could type something witty and funny about how much ship/angst there was originally in this chapter...but I'm not. All hail TPTB who were genius enough to come up with SGA, and Maria belongs to Reefgirl. Review please.


	26. Suprises go both ways

The day passes quietly, and at the end of it Maria goes with Elizabeth, Kelly, and Patrick. We had the Play-doh out so after everyone's left I start cleaning up. As I'm putting some papers in the trash I hear a 'thunk' and pause. Reaching inside the bin, my hand connects with something and I pull it out. It's Jamie's necklace. How it ended up in a bunch of papers I have no idea, but she'll be glad to get it back.

I hold it in my hands, remembering what it was for. I've never been too religious; it's been years since I've been to church. But maybe if I wish hard enough, it'll make everything alright again.

My lips twitch at the thought. Sure, a simple necklace can make wishes come true. Setting it on the desk, where it wouldn't get covered by papers and get lost again, I grab my stuff before heading out the door.

I then head to my room and when I near the door, I see that there's a pile of mail in front of it. I didn't know that the Daedalus had arrived, but then again I don't spend a lot of time in the command section of the city to know what's going on. I pick up the pile and flip through it as I walk in.

There are a lot of thick manila envelopes, all from family and friends. I pause, looking at one in particular; one from my friend Jess. Before I left her boyfriend was thinking about proposing to her but I hadn't heard anything further so I assumed that he chickened out. I open the envelope and pour out the contents; pictures and a homemade DVD. Looks like he had the guts to do it, but that'll have to wait until later; right now I need to do some damage control. I stuff everything back in the envelope, set it down on top of everything else, and begin the challenge of cleaning my place.

_-It's Saturday morning off goes my alarm Where's my list of to-do's I always feel like life's a race…-_

Cleaning doesn't take all that long and soon everything is set to rights. I look around, amazed at actually being able to see the floor and how it seems bigger now that stuff is picked up. A glance at my watch tells me that it's 5:30. I have time to grab some dinner and then go over my mail. I'm by the transporter when my headset activates. "_Max? It's Logan._"

"Hey, what's up?"

"_I was wondering if you could meet me at the South Pier._"

"Why?"

"_There's something I want to show you._"

"Um, ok." I agree, confused at to why he suddenly wants to meet me there. I make my way over there and as the Pier comes into view I see that there's a small table set, with candles and everything, for two set up next to the glass window. Logan is by the table, his back towards me. Ok, what's going on?

As I get closer Logan turns around, sees me, and smiles. "Surprise." He says.

I must have been looking at him like he was three fries short of a happy meal because the smile fades and he says, "Not surprised?"

"Oh I am, it's sweet but I'm slightly confused. Is this your way of saying sorry?"

Now it's Logan's turn to look at me like I'm the one who should be in a nice padded room. "You're joking right?" he says.

"No." I reply, slowly shaking my head.

"What's today?" he asks.

I think for a minute then say, "February 28th. Why...oh."

God, I forgot my own birthday. Geeze, how lame is that? I feel my face heat up and Logan smiles.

"Don't worry about it; you've been busy this past week. I just thought that you'd like something low-key for your birthday."

"That's sweet." I say smiling; it's thoughtful of him to do something like this for me. I move towards the table and as I do Logan pulls out my chair, then sits down himself. I feel that I should be in something fancier than jeans. "So what's on the menu?"

Logan just smiles and reaches under the table. He then brings up a small picnic basket and sets it on the table.

"How did you know that I love this stuff?" I ask as he takes out my favorite Italian dish.

"Your mom told me."

"Like I'm gonna believe that." I say, giving him a 'please I'm not blond' look. "Really, who told you?"

"Like I said, your mom."

"So let me get this straight; you planned this months in advance, even go so far as to write to my mother and ask her what I liked."

Logan nods his head and says, "Pretty much."

"Next you're gonna tell me you had everything shipped over on the Daedalus and cooked it as well." I tease.

"Would you believe me if I said I did?"

"Yea right, like Alex let you use her kitchen."

"Actually she did."

I smile, "And here I thought you were just some rich guy with good looks."

"There's more to me than meets the eye." Logan replies, his eyes sparkling. "But wait, there's more." His hand reaches into the basket again and brings out a bottle of wine. "1945 Chianti." He explains pulling out a wine opener.

"There's only one problem."

He pauses, "What?"

"I don't drink."

"At all?"

"At all."

"Can I ask why?"

"Let's just say that during my school years I was bit of a party girl." I say, my face starting to turn red. Those were some years that I _really_ don't want to revisit.

"Say no more." Logan says, not pressing. Setting down the bottle, still unopened, on the table he comments, "I'll just save this for a special occasion."

I smile and take a sip of water from the glass that was already there.

Where are more men like him?

Dinner was great; there was hardly a pause in conversation and when I bothered to glance at my watch I was startled to see that two hours had flown by. Dessert appears and it's cheesecake. I'm being spoiled.

I tell Logan so and he just smiles and says, "Isn't that what birthdays are for?"

"Really? I thought that they were just a reminder that you're a year older."

Logan opens his mouth to reply but at that moment both of our headsets activate at the same time.

"_Max?_" It's Elizabeth.

"Here."

"_We need you to watch the kids for a bit, something's come up._"

"No problem. Should I come to you or meet you somewhere?" I ask standing. Logan's already gone, having dashed off after only a few words.

"_The kids are already asleep so we don't want to wake them up. They're at Carson and Laura's place. I also asked John to send some Marines for protection._"

I start walking towards the transporter as Elizabeth is talking. "Are things that bad?" I ask, worried.

"_We just want to be on the safe side._"

"_So much for a quiet evening._" I think. "I'll be there soon." I say, stepping into the transporter and activate it. Walking out into the hallway, I see that I'm alone in the hallway. Where is everybody?

Wondering what was going on, I make my way towards the Beckett's and ring the chime. The door swishes open and Laura's there. "Come on in." she says, stepping back so I can enter. I do so and follow Laura as she makes her way further into their place. The light is off in the hallway so I can't see anything.

"…the kids are all asleep in the master bedroom; they were pretty tired after today so they shouldn't wake up." Laura says as we arrive at the threshold of the living room. It's pitch black and I really can't see anything.

I hear Laura stop so I do the same so I don't run into to her. "Sorry about the lights," I hear Laura say. "I forgot that they were off." She says, turning them on half way. I blink as my eyes adjust and see that Laura's in full gear.

"Everything all right?" I ask, wondering what the hell is going on.

She puts on a nervous smile and says, "Everything's fine."

Uh-huh, sure. Whenever someone says that, you should worry. And the fact that Laura's handing me a nine millimeter, gives me _such_ confidence about the situation. I take it but before I can ask anything more about what's going on, the chime sounds again and we both look to the door.

"That must be them." Laura says, heading towards the door. I tuck the gun into the waistband of my jeans and follow her. When the door slides open there, standing in front of the door, are two Marines. Both are armed to the hilt but look like they could hug a teddy bear and make it look manly.

They nod to Laura and to me say, "We'll be outside the door, Ma'am. Just let us know if you need anything."

I nod my understanding as Laura steps out into the hallway. As the door slides shut, they start to talk in low tones. About what, I don't know but I have an idea that it has to do with everything that's happened so far this evening. I make my way back into the living room where I'm at a loss at what to do. I end up making my way over to the window and trying to see if there's anything going on outside, but I can't see anything because the entire city is dark. Not one light is on, which I find strange because usually at night there are a thousand lights on making the city glow.

Sighing, I make my way down the hallway to check on the kids, make sure they're alright. Like Laura said, they're all asleep. The girls are on the bed and the boys are in sleeping bags on the floor. I smile, sometimes I wonder what this place would be like if they weren't here. My worries squished for the moment, I turn around to head back to the living room when I hear the soft sound of air decompressing. Freezing, I realize that the door just opened.

I gently pull out the gun and slowly make my way down the hallway. As I do I can't help but wonder how whoever's there got past two fully armed Marines. Slowly pulling back the hammer, I raise the gun and feel around for a light panel. Finding one, I press it and there he is.

Standing in front of me is Evan.

I lower the gun, break into a grin, and launch myself at him, wrapping my arms around him in a half-hug half-glomp.

"Hey, hey." he protests. "Watch the arm."

I release him and sheepishly shrug. "Sorry, I forgot."

"That's ok."

Still smiling, I whack him on his un-injured arm.

"Hey!" he protests, lightly rubbing the spot where I hit him. "What was that for?"

"For scaring me half to death and almost making me shoot you. You really should announce yourself you know."

"Sorry, I didn't know that you were here."

"C'mon, the two Marines armed to the hilt didn't give it away? I mean it should be obvious by now that whenever something's up that I would be with the kids."

"Give me a break; I just woke up this afternoon."

"Whatever." I say, rolling my eyes. "If you just woke up this afternoon then what are you doing out of the infirmary so soon?"

"I wanted to see Maria and know that she was ok during all of this."

"She was. I looked after her, so did everyone else."

"Thanks."

"No problem." I say, smiling. I'm just glad that he's awake.

Evan just flashes me a grin and says, "You're welcome. Are they asleep?"

"Yea, I just checked in on them."

"Mind if I take a peek?"

"Knock your self out."

"I'd prefer to stay conscious thank you." Evan says, making his way past me.

I cast my eyes upwards while shaking my head. Honestly.

I follow Evan and we both make our way to the room. Standing in the doorway we're silent, just watching them sleep. After a few minutes of watching them, Evan says, "I should get back; don't want Doc threatening me with shots I most likely don't need."

I laugh, "Yea, you might want to do that."

He just laughs and exits. I stand there for a few minutes more, just watching them sleep. I'm back in the hallway when my headset activates. "_Max?_"

"Yes Carson?" I ask hesitantly.

"_I thought that you should know that Major Lorne just woke up._"

"I know."

A slight pause. "_Who told you?_"

"He did."

"_Are you feelin' all right lass?_"

"I'm fine, why?"

"_Because he's right here, he hasn't left the infirmary._"

"He was just here." I say, confused.

There's silence on Carson's end until he says, "_How long ago?_"

"Five minutes ago. Why?"

"_Do you know which way he went?_"

"Said he was heading back to the infirmary. What's going on?" Something's not right here.

Apparently Carson's not alone because I hear muted tones in the background while waiting for him to reply. Then I hear Elizabeth's voice. "_Max, we need you to stay with the kids all night._"

"Fine, but can you tell me what's going on?" I ask, wanting to know what the hell is happening.

"_We can't. All you need to know is that John's sending two more Marines over._"

"Ok, thanks." I say, sighing. Sometimes I feel so out of the loop. But I have to admit that they're right about not telling me stuff, there are just something's around here that might be beyond my clearance level or they just don't want me to worry.

Or both.

The night passes slowly, I don't fall asleep because I'm afraid that if I do something's gonna happen and then I'd lose that five second advantage. Laura and Carson arrive sometime after 3am and offer their spare room for me to crash in, but I respectfully decline and make my way to my place. Once I walk in, I can't stop yawning. So I just flop onto my bed and after setting my alarm am fast asleep.

The next day goes by without any interruption, other than devouring inhuman amounts of coffee, and I'm walking in the hallway when I get a call to report to Dr. Weir's office.

I make my way to the command center, head up the steps to her office, and knock on the doorframe.

Elizabeth looks up from her laptop and smiles. "Come on in Max." she says. "Have a seat."

I enter and sit down, wondering what she wants to talk to me about.

"I want to thank you for looking after the kids longer than we thought last night."

"No problem." I say, hoping that she'd give me an explanation as to why there was some confusion with Evan.

"Let me get right to it. I know that your contract is only for one year but would you consider signing another contract, this time for two years?"

Two years on Atlantis? "I, uh, I don't really know." I stammer out, taken slightly by surprise. I had only planned on staying here until my contract was up, but when you think about it what can you do after teaching in another galaxy? Everything else can't compare.

Elizabeth smiles and says, "That's all right. Take your time in deciding, we don't renew the civilian contracts for another three months. I just wanted to tell you now so you'd have time to think about it."

"Thanks, I will."

"Good. There's one more thing I want to tell you." Before Elizabeth can tell me alarms start going off. We hesitate for half a second then rush out of the room and down the stairs, Elizabeth heading towards the control panel while saying, "Head for the Sheppard's, the kids are there."

I nod and continue down the stairs and run out the room, heading towards the Sheppard's quarters. As I run out of the Gateruim, I notice that the Stargate is active. Something's up.

A/N: -dun dun dun- Somethin's afoot. All standard discaimers apply; I don't own canon characters, Maria or Alex (both property of Reefgirl), or Logan (property of James Cameron). Review please.


	27. Cue Ominous Music I

I round the corner and run down the hallway towards the Sheppard's, almost running into John and Teyla who are in tactical vests and armed.

"What's going on?"

"Genii." John tells me, pausing and handing me a Sig. "We can't spare anyone so you'll need to guard the kids yourself. Can you handle that?"

I nod my head slowly and try to suppress this sick feeling I'm getting in the pit of my stomach.

"Good. Don't open the door for anyone except Elizabeth or myself. We'll use the code 'ATB' so you'll know that it's us and don't leave the kids alone, not even for a minute." John says walking towards the transporter, Teyla had already gone ahead.

I nod my head in understanding and John exits into the transporter. Walking in, I lock the door; I'm not taking any chances.

Setting the Sig down on the table, I make my way into the other room where the kids are. Smiling, I see that they're otherwise occupied. "How's it going guys?" I ask, ruffling Jason's hair and keeping things light.

Jason shrugs and says, "Not much. Where'd mom and dad go?"

"Oh, they had some stuff to take of. What are you guys playing?" I say, changing the subject.

"A game mommy taught us." Jamie says.

"Neat, can you show me how to play?" I ask, getting down on the floor next to them.

Three hours pass and I don't hear from John or Elizabeth. I manage to keep the kids occupied for that time, but by the fourth hour I start to worry. Something's up, they should have either been here or contacted me by now. I manage to slip out of the room twice and try to radio them; the first time I got static and the second time nothing. But I keep reassuring myself and the kids that everything's alright; their parents are just busy at the moment.

Time passes and it starts to get darker. Soon it's night, the kids are asleep, and I wander into the next room. As my hand closes around the handle of the Sig there's a massive explosion and I'm thrown off balance. My head hits the ground and I black out.

"Max?"

I open my eyes, look up, and see Jason next to me. "What happened?" I ask, bringing a hand to my head; it's pounding something fierce at the moment.

"I dunno, something woke me up and mom and dad _still_ aren't back yet." He says as I slowly sit up and then stand.

"Where's everyone else?"

"Still asleep. What's going on?"

I take a deep breath and say, "I don't-" I cut off when muffled thumps start to sound outside the door. "Go back inside the room and lock the door." I say, putting myself in front of him. "What ever you hear, _don't_ open it unless you hear me or your dad tell you to."

"But-"

"Just do as I say." I snap as I move forwards. I hear the soft padding of feet as Jason walks back into the room and then shuts the door, locking it.

I activate my headset and try to contact either Colonel Sheppard or Doctor Weir; but I don't get a response. For all I know it could be them on the other side of the door. But on the other hand it could be Genii.

I take a deep breath to steady my nerves and raise the gun, aiming for the door as the sounds continue.

Suddenly the door slides open and I see men in green uniforms; but not SGC or Atlantis issue.

Genii, I assume. And they all have weapons.

"Come in and I'll shoot." I say my voice wavering slightly.

"Shoot and we'll kill you where you stand." One of them, the leader I'm assuming, says. "The kids as well."

That last sentence makes me hesitate; my finger hovering over the trigger. I don't want the kids to get hurt.

"Hand over your weapon and you'll be safe. For now." He says, inching forward.

I have two choices; shoot and most likely be killed on spot or surrender and live for now. Taking a breath, I slowly lower the Sig to the ground and raise my body back up, arms out.

The Genii then enter the room; guns still pointed. "Where are the kids?" the leader asks.

"In there." I say, nodding my head towards the closed door.

The leader waves his gun towards the door and says, "Open it."

"Can't, locked from the inside."

"Then tell whoever's on the other side to unlock it."

I gulp and walk over to the door. "Jason." I say, loud enough for him to know it's me. "Open the door." There's a pause, then a slight click and the door opens.

"Get in there." The leader says, shoving me in.

I stumble forwards but catch myself before I go down. Standing straight I go over towards Jason and put my arms around him, silently assuring him that everything's going to be alright.

"What's going on?" Jason asks, looking wide-eyed at the Genii.

The leader smiles and says, "Well, Jason Sheppard, you're our prisoners."

A/N: An evil cliffie, I know. But it just makes you come back to see what happens doesn't it? All hail TPTB of SGA. Review.


	28. Cue Ominous Music II

An hour later and we're still prisoners. Everyone else woke up shortly after they came in and now Jamie, Kelly, Maria, Stuart, and Patrick are playing while Jason leans against me.

"Max?" he asks, looking up at me. "Are mom and dad gonna come get us?"

"Why wouldn't they? They'll be here as soon as they can."

"Really?"

"Really." I say smiling.

"I doubt it." A new voice says. I look up to see an older man, dressed as the other Genii, enter.

His eyes rest on me and I shiver; like someone poured ice down my back.

Walking towards me, he inclines his head at me and says, "Commander Acastus Kolya Miss Wainwright."

Ok, that's creepy. How did he know my name? Come to think of it, they all seem to know our names. What's going on here?

Kolya glances around the room. "Somehow I would have expected a bit of a fight from you, Jason Sheppard, knowing his strong dislike for me."

"Just wait. My dad's gonna shoot you." Jason retorts, sticking his tongue out at Kolya while I bite back a smile.

Kolya just looks amused and says, "He would, Jason, he would. But seeing as he and your mother are currently in the brig I highly doubt that he will." He then turns to the leader of the group and says, "Get them out of here."

"Yes, sir."

The Genii move and force us up; they're firm but gentle so I get the feeling that their orders are not to harm us. Kolya follows us into the hallway where he tells us to stop. Looking at us he says, "Take the children to the brig. Let their parents know what happens when they refuse to listen."

The leader of the group gives a curt nod, "Yes sir."

Kolya eyes rest on me again, "Do as you see fit to Miss Wainwright." He then walks away.

A soldier grabs me and my heart starts to pound and the kids reach for me as the soldiers pull them away.

Jason calls out my name, a single "Max!" before the soldier who has him slaps him across the face.

I see red and break the hold the Genii has on me, lunging for the one that hit Jason. How dare he? But before I can reach him, another soldier grabs me and pulls me in the opposite direction. No matter how much I struggle, the distance increases.

We round a corner and the kids are out of sight. I continue to struggle as we head down the hallway, but the Genii just tightens his grip on me. Then it hits me; SING.

I slam my elbow into his solar plexis and he bends over in pain. I then raise my elbow and slam it into his nose. He lets go and holding his nose in pain as I move past him. But he grabs my arm and yanks me down to the floor.

Straightening, he pulls out his gun and points it towards me saying, "You shouldn't have done that."

I flinch, waiting for the shots.

A/N: Yes another evil cliffy. But it won't be for long 'cause I have a feeling that Reefgirl (who owns Maria) is going to somehow find my secret lair and force me to update until there are no more evil cliffies. All hail TPTB. Review (that means all of you who have this story on your alert list yet refuse to comment).


	29. Close Call

Shots echo and I feel something hit me.

I yelp, open my eyes in time to hear more shots, and see the Genii in front of me fall down with a look of shock on his face and several bullet holes in his chest.

Letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding, I scramble back from the body and push against the wall. Wall good. Wall safe.

Through my haze I hear footsteps running towards me and voices. My arm's killing me right now, like it got burned really badly. I close my eyes in pain and I hear voices, "Max, you alright?"

"You ok?"

Sounds like Evan and Logan, but it could just be my imagination.

"She's been hit."

"You think I didn't notice that? Max, I need you to lower you hand so I can see how bad the wound is."

I open my eyes to see Evan and Logan kneeling to my left. Relived that it's not more Genii, I lower my right hand so Evan can take a look.

Evan then rips my sleeve in order to get a better look at the area.

"Hey!" I protest. "This is my favorite shirt."

"Rip the other sleeve off so it matches." He replies distractedly.

I roll my eyes at the comment, only a guy would say something like that. After a few seconds of silence I ask, "How bad is it?"

"The bullet just grazed you. Lucky for you he was a half-ass shot."

"If we hadn't shown up when we did he would've tried again." Logan comments.

I give Logan a 'WTF!?' look and Evan glares at him.

"What?" Logan asks. "It's true."

"Subtlety's not your strong suit is it?" Evan snaps.

They descend into bickering like siblings while my eyes wander over to the dead Genii. Their voices fade out as I realize that Logan was right. He was going to _kill _me; by all rights I should be dead right now.

"Max."

I'm snapped back to the present and I see that they're staring at me. I then realize that one of them had asked me a question. "Yes?" I ask hesitantly.

"Where are the kids?" Evan asks.

The kids.

Koyla. He's going to kill them.

"H-h-headed t-t-towards the brig. Kolya…" I stammer out, not able to finish the sentence. But I have to. I take a deep breath and try again, "Kolya said…he said that everyone there needed to know what'd happen when they refused to listen."

"Shit." Evan curses, moving away from me and picking up the dead Genii's gun. Tossing it to me, he starts to run down the hallway.

I fumble for it and stand; following Evan while asking, "What's going on?"

"They caught us by surprise." Logan says from behind me. "Hardly anyone was able to get to the Jumper Bay. They cut out communications so as far as we know, we're the only ones _not_ in the brigs."

We round a corner and I slightly skid across the smooth, metal floor. We jog up to a transporter and pause at the door. "What now?" I ask, slightly out of breath.

Evan looked at Logan and then said, "Cale and I head down to the brig and stop that son of a bitch from carrying out his promise. You stay here and wait for us to return."

"Like hell I am." I say, folding my arms together and raising an eyebrow. "You need someone to keep the kids out of the way, and besides, you're still hurt and Logan's only a civilian. No offence." I say, looking at Logan.

"None taken." Logan replies.

"You're hurt as well." Evan says, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not stopping you, so why should it stop me?"

Evan's silent for a moment, considering my words. Finally he replies, "Ok."

I smile, "I knew that you'd see it my way."

"Uh-huh." Evan says pressing the panel to open the transporter. We step inside and as Evan reaches to press our destination he says, "First stop the armory."

A flash of light and Logan asks, "Wouldn't they already have found it?"

Evan shakes his head and steps forward as the door slides open. "Not this one. It's an auxiliary one that only Colonel Sheppard, Doctor Weir, and myself know about." He says as we walk down the hallway. Evan suddenly stops and holds up a hand.

Logan and I stop as well and wonder what's going on when we hear footsteps. Evan slowly moves forwards, while motioning for us to go against the wall while doing the same himself.

I join Evan on the wall as does Logan as there we wait as the footsteps grow closer. Evan then motions for Logan and I to stay put. I nod my understanding and watch as he creeps closer to the corner.

He stops a few inches from the edge of the corner and raises his gun. Taking a deep breath he pushes off of the wall and faces the other side of the corner, gun pointed at whoever's there.

Evan sees who's on the other side, smiles and lowers his gun while saying, "Damn it, Lieutenant I almost shot you."

"Sorry sir. Thought that you were Genii." I hear a female voice reply.

"So did I. You the only one from your team?" Evan asks, stepping back so whoever it was could make her way to our side.

"Far as I can tell, sir." The Lieutenant says as she steps into view. "However I did run into Prendergast as well as twelve. What about your team, sir?"

"All captured. Found Cale then Max and we're headed for the brig. Koyla's got the kids and we aim to interrupt whatever he's got planned. We could use all the help we could get. You game?"

"A chance to shoot the Genii? Hell yes." She replies, breaking into a grin.

"Good, get everyone else and we'll head towards the brig."

The Lieutenant nods her head and heads the way she came.

We then head towards the auxiliary armory and soon we're inside it, gearing up. The tactical vest feels constricting when I put it on but I suppose that's better than getting shot. I get rid of the Genii gun and Evan hands me a nine millimeter with plenty of spare clips.

While we're still in there, the Lieutenant as well as five others show up. Evan hands out extra clips to everyone while saying, "They'll have guards by the transporter and in the hallways but we have the element of surprise. We hit hard, we hit fast, and use your silencers. Don't let them sound the alarm. If you have a clear shot of Koyla _take it_."

We all nod our understanding and as we walk down the hallway towards the stairs, Evan says, "Cale, Max; stay by me. Prendergast, O'Brian, Gray; take point. Everyone; keep an eye out. We have the element of surprise and I want to keep it."

We shift into our positions and start to head down the stairs I can't help but feel apprehensive; I _never_ thought that I'd be doing this when I signed up. There are just some things that they didn't teach in my education courses.

But then again, it's not like they can prepare you for the job of teaching in another galaxy.

They take out the three guards at the base of the stairs and we manage to make it halfway down the hallway before we hear footsteps. Someone from twelve opens the ventilation shaft and we all crawl in. Logan replaces the grate just as the footsteps round the corner and come towards us.

I try not to think of being crammed in a small space with lots of people. So far it's not working. My heart's pounding and so is my arm. The walls feel like they're shrinking and I just want to climb over Logan and get out of the shaft, not caring that there are Genii right there. I scrunch my eyes shut and try to supress the panicked feeling that I'm starting to get.

I just want out.

I someone take me hand and I open my eyes to see that it's Evan. He smiles at me and gives my hand a light squeeze. I smile gratefully back at him and take a steadying breath. After what seems like forever the footsteps pass us and head down the hallway. Then we hear a shout; "Koyla!"

To me it sounds like Colonel Sheppard, but I could be wrong.

Before we can get out of the shaft and head towards the shout, we hear more footsteps; this time they're coming the opposite way. We all shift back, trying to get as far in as possible.

Then we hear voices, but they're too muted to understand what they're saying.

Shots ring out; I immediately tense up and glance at Evan, worried. I see the same worry reflected in his eyes. We'd climb out of the shaft right then and there, but there are still too many people in the hallway.

After what seems like forever, the hallway is finally empty and Logan removes the grate, exiting.

I exit and start running towards the brig, hoping. Evan soon passes me and I hear the others behind us. As we run down the hallway I can't help but pray that none of the kids were hurt.

My heart pounding, I enter a minute or so behind Evan…and am greeted with the sight of four Genii on the floor, dead, and Colonel Sheppard talking to Rodney.

"…fainted."

"_Passed out_."

Evan stands with Maria in his arms and says something but I don't catch it because I pass him and enter the brig itself, while tucking the nine millimeter into the back of my pants, hoping that everyone else it ok.

They are.

The kids spot me, get up and run towards me while exclaiming, "Max!"

I get down and hug them, relief washing over me. I'm just glad that they're alright.

When they finally let go of me, they head back to their parents. As I stand Evan walks over to me, Maria comfortably against him. "How'd they knock out the guards?" I ask when he's near.

"Rushed them when they came in for the kids. The shots we heard were from Colonel Sheppard. Listen, we're gonna go after Kolya and the rest of the Genii. We need you to stay here with the kids."

"In the brig?" I ask raising an eyebrow.

"It's the safest place right now. McKay's gonna rig the controls so only the command staff can turn off the shield. Ok?"

"Ok." I say, eyeing the brig. It's not the most welcoming place, but I guess it needs to be done. I turn my gaze back towards Evan, "Be careful, alright?"

A smile dances across Evan's face and he says, "I will."

"Good." He moves to hand Maria off to me, but she just wraps her arms around his neck.

"Maria, you have to go with Max now." Evan says in a soft tone.

"Don't wanna leave you." She says, sniffing and pressing up against him even more.

"I know you don't, but you need to go with Max. I have to make sure the bad guys won't try to hurt you again." He says as I move in. But Maria still refuses to come to me.

Evan brushes the hair out of Maria's face and says, "I'll be back soon."

"Promise?" Maria asks.

"Promise."

" 'K." Maria says in a soft voice and lets go of Evan as I grab hold of her.

I slightly wince at the weight of Maria but I shift her to my uninjured arm.

"Good." Evan says, smiling. After a quick kiss on Maria's cheek and a smile for me Evan heads off.

I ignore the looks that everyone gives me and walk into the brig. As I enter it, I hear the sound of the force field activating and set Maria down and then sit down myself; getting comfortable. Something tells me that there's gonna be a lot of waiting.

A/N: Makes you want to go 'aw' doesn't it? See, Logan and Evan _can_ get along...sort of. Kudos go to Nenya for leaving a review that set the bunnies on me for this chapter. And no evil cliffy this time. All hail TPTB. Tell me what you think of the chapter, Review please.


	30. Decisions That We Make

_His eyes rest on me and I shiver; like someone poured ice down my back...__Kolya's eyes rest on me again, "Do as you see fit to Miss Wainwright."_

I open my eyes and am greeted with the sight of grey steel bars and feeling the (very uncomfortable) steel floor. We're still in the brig and everyone's asleep, well everyone but me. Sitting up, I run a hand through my hair to (somewhat) straighten it out and yawn. A glance at my watch tells me we've been here for three hours. Feels longer.

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes I here footsteps. Finally, we're getting out of here. Stretching as I stand, I walk towards the entrance looking for one of the Senior Staff. The footsteps grow louder and I notice for the first time that they sound more distinct, like some kind of boot.

I don't remember hearing that kind of footfall before. Strange.

A body comes into view and it's not one of the Senior Staff.

It's Koyla.

I feel my heart start to pound as he walks up to the entrance and stops. "Ah Miss Wainwright." He says, smiling. "What a pleasure it is to see you again."

"You bastard." I growl in a low voice.

Koyla laughs softly and looks amused, "Now, now what would their parents say about you using that kind of language in front of the children?"

"They wouldn't care because you'd be dead so fast you wouldn't have time for Last Rites." I say while my hand travels to my waistband where the nine millimeter is. Pulling it out, I aim it at Koyla and pull back the hammer. "I should kill you right now."

"Why is that?" Koyla asks.

"Because you almost sent me and the children to our deaths, using them as leverage. Anyone who does that deserves to die in my book." I say, still keeping the gun aimed for Koyla's heart. "One shot and this could be all over. One shot."

"And yet you hesitate." Koyla says, walking around the outside of the brig. I follow him with my eyes and the gun. "I wonder why that is?" Koyla stops, looking at me straight in the eyes. "Go ahead; you've got nothing to lose."

I swallow hard and stare straight back at Koyla. I will _not_ let this SOB play his mind games on me.

"Of course you're forgetting one thing; there's a force field keeping us apart. Maybe that's why you hesitate, you don't want to risk the chance of the bullet bouncing off of the field and striking one of the children."

"And how do you know that? Maybe it lets things out but not in." I retort. My finger hovers over the trigger...but I don't pull it.

Koyla smiles and says, "That's what I thought." Slightly lowering his head Koyla smiles, "I must take my leave of you and the children now; it has been a pleasure Miss Wainwright." Koyla then walks out of the brig and I'm left standing there, gun still raised, alone.

Sighing I lower the gun and release the hammer, suddenly feeling drained. There was something strange about that man, like he knew that I wasn't going to actually kill him. Sitting down, I close my eyes and relax against the wall.

Why couldn't I kill him?

Two weeks later...

I flop down onto the couch in the lounge and sigh. It's been a hell of a two weeks. The Genii attacking the base and all hell breaking loose; it was pure luck that the kids had stayed safe and I involuntary flinch at the memories.

And then than a water pipe burst and flooded half of the East Pier.

But that's over and done with, now we have the city back and everything's back to normal. And now it's time for me to finally watch the wedding DVD.

I press 'play' and get comfortable.

I make it through the ceremony (without crying) but don't feel like watching the reception, so I head back to my place. Feeling a bit more social than I normally am I decide to head on over to the cafeteria and just chill there for a while. On my way out, I spot the wedding pictures and, on impulse, grab them. I can look them over in the cafeteria.

I'm at the double doors when I run into Logan. Smiling I say, "Hey."

"Hey, how's it going?" Logan asks holding the door open for me.

"Thanks." I say, going through. "Not to bad, you know considering everything."

Logan smiles, "Tell me about it. I'm still a bit on edge."

"Me to." I say as we make our way to a table. "I never got a chance to thank you for the dinner two weeks ago." I say as we sit down. "So, ya know, thanks."

"Don't mention it. It was your birthday and I wanted to do something special for you."

I smile and blush slightly, "Still, it was really nice."

"What's in the envelope?"

"Pictures from a friends wedding." I say, opening it. "They also sent a DVD of the ceremony and reception a few weeks ago. I finally got to watch it today."

"Can I see?" Logan asks, trying to get a look at the pictures.

"Sure." I say, sliding the ones I've already seen over to him. "So far they're just the formal shots, nothing special."

"Hey guys, what's up?" Crysta says, walking up to us.

"Not much, just looking at wedding pictures."

"Really?" Crysta asks, pulling up a chair and sitting down. "Anyone I know?"

"Don't think so." I reply, sliding another picture over to Logan.

"Oh, hey there's Dr. Jackson." Crysta comments as she spots the picture. "You know him?"

"Yup, he's the one who got me the assignment." I reply, slightly distracted since I'm still looking at the photos. After the formal photos the photographer must have gone around at the reception taking candid ones.

I flip to the next one and my breath catches.

"You ok?" Crysta asks.

"Uh, yea. I gotta go." I mutter as I stand and beat a hasty retreat.

_--------_

I make it to my room without crying but once the doors close I don't stop them from falling.

How could he do this to me? And with my roommate and friend (well now ex-roommate and ex-friend)?

So much for 'I love you'.

They must have sent the pictures before checking the prints, because they wouldn't have sent me that picture if they had looked at them. All I know now is that I'm done. With both of them.

I look for the picture so I can shred it and never have to see it again, but can't find it. I must have left in the cafeteria. Damn it, now everyone's gonna know. I make my way to the bedroom where I pull out a box and start putting everything that reminds me of him and everything he gave me into it.

It's a small box and everything fits into it; pictures, the charm bracelet he gave me when we first started going out, books, and a few shirts. I close the lid on the box and stuff it in the closet. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

I lie down on the bed and grab Commander Bun-Bun. Hugging him close to my chest, I sigh.

I feel like crap.

I should have seen it, all the signs were there. He didn't write me at all, no Christmas or birthday gifts.

I then hear the sound of the chime going off. It's most likely Crysta to offer support, chocolate, and boy-bash and as much I would love to do that I don't feel like it at the moment. Right now I just want to be by myself and listen to my emo collection.

The chime sounds again. After the third time I resign myself to the fact that she's not gonna leave until I actually show my face so I get up and make my way to the door. Opening it I see that it's not Crysta but Logan. And I see that he's holding drinks.

Before he's able to speak I say, "Come on in."

A/N: Nenya gets ten chocolate chip cookies because she gave the bunnies for the first part of the chapter (I'm condsidering putting her on retainer). Standard disclaimer applies. Review, please.


	31. The Morning After and Talk

My head is pounding. I groan and roll over, trying to ignore the immense pounding. I haven't felt like this since my high school graduation. I think that I'm gonna call in sick and sleep the entire day. Yea, that sounds good.

I feel something warm next to me and snuggle closer to it.

"_Mmmm, nice and soft._" I think as I wrap my arm around it.

"I'm glad you think so." A voice that sounds a lot like Logan's replies.

I open my eyes and see Logan's staring back at me. And I seem to be missing my pjs. With a startled yelp I roll over, taking the cover with me. I must have been near the edge because I fall off the bed. Scrambling back, I try to wrap myself with the cover without standing up. "What the _hell _are you doing here?" I ask, startled.

Logan raises an eyebrow and says, "You don't remember last night?"

I stare at him for a few seconds until it hits me.

Oh, shit.

"Oh no." I say, standing and wrapping the cover around my body.

"Oh yes."

I take a deep breath and try to calm my racing heart. "In my defense I was-" I start to say but Logan holds up a hand cutting me off.

"What?...Ok, I'll be right there." Logan says, grabbing a pair of boxers from the floor and putting them on under the sheet. Once those are on, he stands. "I gotta go. We'll talk later, ok?" He says as he slips on his clothes.

"Ok." I say to him as he walks out of the room. As the door closes I sigh. This is just great. I quickly get ready for the day, down three aspirin, and head over to the cafeteria. After sitting down with pancakes, syrup, and coffee Crysta comes over. "How much did you drink last night?" she asks, getting right to the point.

"And how did you know?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Pancakes are hangover food. Besides Logan left not long after you did. So how much did you drink?"

"Let's just say that I haven't had a hangover this bad since I was a senior." I say, my lip involuntarily twitching into a smile as I remember what happened between Logan and I. Ok, so I admit that it was really nice. But that's beside the point.

Crysta just looks at me, her eyes suddenly going wide. "Oh. My. God. You slept with him." She breathes.

"Shhhh, don't announce it to the entire base." I hiss while glancing around to see if anyone heard her. Fortunately everyone else around us are deep into conversation. "In my own defense I was smashed."

"Don't worry, my lips are sealed." She says, crossing her heart with a finger. "Did you guys talk?"

I shake my head. "He got called away before we could. And I'm hoping that we won't have to for awhile."

"Why? At least you got some."

"Gee, thanks for not making it sound slutty." I deadpan.

Crysta asks another question but I don't here her because I spot Logan walking in.

Crap.

"As much as I would love to continue this lovely conversation, I have to go." I say, turning around so Logan doesn't see me. "Remember, not a word about this to anyone."

"Mum's the word."

I manage to get out of the cafeteria with out Logan noticing me. And luck's with me because I don't run into him the rest of the day, although Alex gives me a wink at lunch so I guess that Crysta must have told her. The women cannot keep a secret.

_------_

I don't run into Logan for three days and when I do it's in the cafeteria. I'm sitting down to dinner when I hear, "Can I join you?"

I look up and see that it's Logan. I feel my face start to heat up and I nod my head. I guess that we'd have to talk sooner or later.

He sits down and we're silent for a few minutes, each with our own thoughts, until we speak at the same time.

"We need to talk-"

"About that night-"

We both stop and nervously laugh. "Go ahead." Logan says.

I shake my head and say, "No you first."

"Ok. I guess we need to talk about that night..." He says, trailing off. "It's my fault. I brought the stuff even though I knew you didn't drink. I thought by being there with it I could stop you if it went too far." His lips twist in a sardonic smile. "I think we know how great that worked out."

"Don't blame yourself entirely. I'm to blame just as much as you are." I say, lowering my voice so that the din of the cafeteria would mask our conversation but we'd still be able to hear each other. "I was an emotional wreak and not thinking clearly to begin with. And I made the choice to drink. What happened that night was the result of two people having too much to drink."

"So was I good?" Logan asks raising an eyebrow.

I look at him wide-eyed for a few seconds, not believing that he just asked me that, but then I catch the spark in his eye and see that he's messing with me. "Hey, I'm trying to have a serious conversation here." I say, reaching across the table and hitting him on the arm.

He laughs and says, "Just trying to add a little levity here. So was I?"

"What?" I squeak out. "I'm not gonna tell you that."

"Oh c'mon, I gotta know."

"No you don't." I say, laughing.

Logan laughs as well. After we calm down he leans forwards and says, "All kidding aside, where does this leave us?"

"What do you mean?" I ask, hoping that he wasn't going where I thought he was going.

"Was that just a one-time thing or do you think that it could become recurring?"

He went there.

I sigh, not sure how to answer it. I have to admit that at first I had a crush on Logan but once we started hanging out together that faded and now I see him as a friend.

"Well?" he asks, looking at me.

I take a breath and say, "You're a great friend and to be honest with you that's all you are to me; a friend. What happened that night was a mistake."

"Really?"

"Really." Logan looks crushed and it feels like I just kicked a puppy. "We can still be friend's right?" I ask, weakly.

"Yea, sure. Friends." Logan echoes halfheartedly. "I'm glad we had this talk." He then gets up and leaves the cafeteria.

"Yea me to." I say to his retreating figure.

I just lean back in my chair and sigh.

A/N: Didn't see that one coming, huh? This chapter is my little cure for a certain smut-bunny called Benjaman. Crysta belongs to Nenya, Alex belongs to Reefgirl and Logan belongs to James Cameron. Tell me what you think of the chapter.


	32. Q&A

Two months later...

As I exit the room I run into Logan. "Hey."

Logan smiles and says, "Hey back. How you doin'?"

I shrug and say, "Good."

"Good." He says, slightly shifting around. We stand in silence for a bit, not saying anything.

A glance at my watch tells me that I'm gonna be late to the North Balcony for the football game.

I force a smile and say, "See you around?"

"Yea, see you around." Logan echoes. We then head our separate ways.

"_Awkward, much?_" I think to myself as I make my way down the hallway.

We've been avoiding each other like the Plague after we talked. I guess that we both lied to each other when we said that we'd still be friends after what happened. People have seemed to notice that we're not spending time together.

Alex and Lydia commented on it at poker night, Dr. Weir mentioned it, and even Evan said something about it.

Of course I didn't tell them exactly _why_ we've suddenly been avoiding each other; I just said that we've both been busy (although Crysta spilled the beans at poker night so I had to cop up to the truth). Which is true. Kind of.

He's been busy with what ever he does, and I've been busy with the kids and other stuff. I step out of the transporter (which I've finally learned to love) and make my way over to where they're playing.

"Hey Max!" I hear someone yell.

I scan the crowd for familiar faces and spot Crysta and Evan, waving to get my attention. I grin and wave back, starting to head towards them. Evan is almost back to a hundred percent; his arm is still wrapped so Carson has forbidden him to play until it's completely healed. "I thought you didn't like football." I say to Crysta once I'm near them.

"Still don't, but it's a nice day and you never know when the next storm's gonna roll in."

I flinch at the comment because even the mention of stormy weather makes my stomach flip-flop.

Evan and Crysta now have concerned looks on their faces. "You all right?" Crysta asks.

"Yea, just a little seasick, feels like it's been rougher these last few months." I reply, taking a steadying breath.

Evan and Crysta exchange looks and I can't help but wonder that something's up. "What?" I ask.

"Are you sure you're ok? Because it's been pretty calm." Evan says.

"Well some of us aren't used to living on a city in the middle of an ocean."

"Chill, it was just a comment."

"And I was just telling you."

"Let's just watch the game, ok? Save the cat fighting for later." Crysta says, being the peacemaker.

The game was pretty good, nothing exciting happening; the one highlight of the game was when a fight almost broke out between them because no one could decide if the last "tackle" was actually legal because the guy who got tagged at the same time. Names were called and fists were formed but before any punches were thrown Evan stepped in.

Fortunately he saw the entire thing and was able to settle it. After that he became the informal ref for the game. And I manage not to feel like I'm gonna hurl the entire time so I guess I just needed some fresh air.

I'm making my way back when Dr. Weir calls me to her office. It doesn't take me long to get there and soon I'm bounding up the steps towards her office. The office is empty but the door is open so I assume that she just stepped out for a moment and will be back soon. I glance at the desk as I walk in and notice the number of mission reports in the 'in' tray and open on the desk; I had no idea how many times teams go off world. As I move to sit down, my hip grazes the edge of a pile of folders and they go splaying everywhere. I cringe and scramble to pick them up, before Doctor Weir comes back and sees the mess. Yea, that would be great.

As I'm putting papers back into folders I catch a glimpse of one from a few months ago. I see the words 'Major Lorne' as well as 'Shape shifter' and 'kids'. But before I can read more I hear footsteps and voices.

Quietly cursing, I hastily put the few remaining papers into folders and put them onto the desk. I sit down just as Doctor Weir walks in.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting to long." She says, walking around the desk and sitting down into her chair.

"Not at all." I say, flashing a smile while inwardly sighing.

Whew, that was close.

"Good. I was wondering if you'd decided if you'd like to stay here two more years."

"_Not really._" I think to myself. With everything that's been going on the last few months that has taken a back seat, but now that I have time to think about it, why not? It's not like I have anything tying me down back home. And how can you _not_ want to continue teaching in another galaxy?

I nod my head and say, "I would love to stay."

Elizabeth smiles, "I'm glad to hear it. I'll send you the paperwork soon."

"Good."

"One more thing I wanted to ask you. I was wondering if you'd like to go off world."

"Really?" I ask. I'd _love _that. The only time I've been off world was at the beginning of my stay and even then it wasn't for long.

"Really. I'm sending John and his team to a planet of children and was thinking about sending you so you could make observations on their system of teaching. It would be pretty cut and dry, nothing earth shattering."

"I'd love to." I say, hoping that I didn't sound too eager.

"Good. I'll let John know and have him talk to you about the mission a bit more. They leave next week."

She then turns back to her laptop so I take that as my cue to leave. As I leave I can't help but get this giddy feeling in my stomach. I'm actually going off world.

A/N: I refrenced 'Girl's Poker Night: Max's Turn' in the beginning of the chapter, check it out to see the hilarity that ensued -end self-pimpage- Heading into the homestrech now, standard discalimers apply. Review.


	33. Little pitchers have big ears

May 14

Note to self: never eat sushi again. EVER.

I know that Miko feels horrible about it, but still…

Here's what happened; a day before the most recent football game Miko invited a bunch of us to share some homemade sushi. I agreed 'cause I love the stuff and it was good, don't get me wrong, but mine seemed a bit off. Well, it turns out, the fish over here shouldn't be left out for longer than two hours and someone forgot to tell her.

To make a long story short, I ended up making sacrifices to the porcelain god on a regular basis. At first I thought it was just 'cause I had too much ice cream beforehand (I mean it was cookie dough; how could I _not_?) or some bug, but when Carson stopped by to see if I was all right (others got sick as well and did the smart thing in going to the infirmary instead of their rooms) and I told him what had happened...he told me differently.

So yea, no longer gonna eat sushi.

At least Evan got sick as well (he snagged a piece while Miko was making it), so I guess that there is some justice in the world.

_And_ on that note things are still awkward around Logan. I just hope that we can work this out before-

Thud.

"Fuck."

I pause in my writing when I hear that word and look up to see Jason wide-eyed with a hand clamped over his mouth. He had just knocked over a bottle of glue and uttered the expletive after it had hit the ground. I wag a finger and he comes walking towards me.

"Did you just say what I though you did?"

He nods his head slowly, fear now setting into his eyes.

"And where did you here this word?" I know that it wasn't me, I'm always careful of my wording around the kids. Like my mother used to say, "Little pitchers have big ears."

Jason just looks down at the ground and mumbles something.

"Excuse me?"

"The soldiers and daddy." He replies.

The soldiers and daddy, huh? Looks like I'm going to have a little talk with them.

And as if to illustrate his accusation, I hear the sound of footsteps and then men singing. My eyes go wide as I hear; "_...There was blood upon the risers, there was brains upon the 'chute. His intestines was a'dangling from his paratrooper's suite. They poured him from his helmet and poured him from his boots, AND HE AIN'T GONNA JUMP NO MORE!!!_"

Oh. My. God. That's horrible.

I stick my head out of the door just in time to catch a glimpse of Sergeant Stackhouse. Hmm, at least I now know who to direct my wrath at.

And if that wasn't enough I then hear, "There once was a women from Nantucket-"

"Ok, who wants to play a game?" I say rather loudly in order to drown out the rest of the poem that I know by heart (don't ask…just _don't_ ask). "What about Monopoly?"

Luckily, they agree and we start a game. The rest of the day passes without anything "colorful" being said and afterwards I head out to "talk" to Stackhouse.

-----

It's not hard to find the Marines. I mean, they're always in groups together and usually the loudest ones. I know some of them and they know me from the football games (when I have time to play; which isn't often) so it's not like I'm completely oblivious to their brand of humor.

But this time they've gone too far.

"Sergeant Stackhouse!" I call out, mad as hell.

He turns around to see me walking towards him and says when he sees me, "Major Lorne's not here, if that's what you were wondering."

I shake my head, "I'm not looking for the Major, I want to talk to you."

He flashes a grin and says, "Sure, what's on your mind?"

The other Marines around us cat-call and tease Stackhouse. I want to roll my eyes at the immaturity but restrain myself because I'm more pissed at Stackhouse. "Sing any good songs today?" I say while raising an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" Stackhouse asks, confusion appearing on his face.

"Today when you ran past the classroom; sing anything interesting?"

It takes about five seconds for him to realize what I'm getting at and then a faint blush appears. I can't help but bite back a smirk; I don't think I've even seen a Marine blush before. "Teaching the kids about Noah's Ark by singing 'The animals came in standard two-by-two cover formation, hurrah, hurrah' was bad enough," I say, the amusement gone. "but this..._this_ crosses the line!"

"Sorry." He replies in an even tone.

I get the feeling that he's not really sorry and that just pisses me off even more. "Sorry!?" I ask, infuriated. "You're _sorry_?"

"Yea, what more do you want?"

It takes all my restraint not to hit him right then and there. Before I can reply John and Teyla come walking in. They walk towards us and John must've seen my fury because he asks, "Is there a problem?"

"_That's the understatement of the year._" I think to myself.

"No sir." Stackhouse replies.

I let out a snort of disgust. Excuse me? I think there is.

John raises an eyebrow, "Max?"

"Yes there _is_ a problem." I say, forcefully while glaring at Stackhouse. This needs to stop right here and now. "Jason said the most interesting word today and said that he heard it from you and the other soldiers."

"What word?" John asks, eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

"Fuck." I simply say. "And _then_ Stackhouse and a bunch of Marines come jogging past singing about the disembowelment of a paratrooper. So yea, there _is_ a problem."

John clears his throat nervously while Teyla shoots him a look that says 'you're-gonna-be-sleeping-on-the-couch-for-a-while'.

Busted.

I inwardly smile as John stammers to say that he'll deal with Stackhouse and the other Marines and how it'll never happen again.

----

"I can't believe that Doctor Weir made Colonel Sheppard and the Marines have a teddy bear picnic with the kids." Crysta said, laughing when I told her about the entire incident.

I smile and say, "It _was_ funny. The Marines and John had to have their own teddy bears and read Paddington stories to the kids. The boys weren't so hot about the bears but the girls loved them. Plenty of blackmail materal."

Crysta giggles at the remark and I spend the next half-hour telling her about the picnic. Through out it I can't help but think they learned that you never want to piss off a teacher. We can be vicious when we want to.

A/N: This chapter has been brought to you by The Creeping Spleen, who gave me the bunny for it. The lyrics are from an actual song, it's called "Blood Upon the Risers", and is about a rookie paratrooper's 'chute failing to open and he ends up falling to Earth with a resounding and rather messy splat. Lovely huh? Standard disclaimers apply, Review.


	34. News

A/N: The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter, a number of chapters left and I can assure you that they won't disappoint. Standard disclaimers apply, review.

Ok, my pre-mission check up is taking longer than I thought.

I shift around on the exam table and sigh. Everyone else came in the same time as me and they're long gone. Even Dr. McKay finished before me and from what I hear he's the least cooperative.

I hear footsteps and soon Dr. Beckett comes around the partition with a clipboard in his hands. I sigh and start to stand; _finally_ I can go.

"Jus' a minute, lass." he says, making a lowering motion with his free hand. "I need ta ask you some questions."

"Ok." I say slowly, sitting back down. What's going on?

"How are you feelin' today?" Carson asks, taking out a pen.

I shrug and say, "Pretty good actually."

"Really?"

I nod my head and say, "Been feeling kind of off lately."

"Can ye describe the feelin'?"

"When I wake up it feels like I just fell asleep."

"Anythin' else?"

"Well, the food poising seems to be hanging on; I can't keep anything down."

Carson just nods his head and asks, "Any time during the day that it's particularly worse?"

"During the evening, I guess." I say, wondering what's up with the 20 questions. "I hate to sound rude, but can this wait until I get back? Colonel Sheppard and the others are waiting-"

"They've been told to go ahead without you, lass." Carson says in a business-like manner.

"What's going on?" I ask, confused. "Dr. Weir told me that I'd be going off world with them."

"True, but your pre-mission blood test turned up something unusual and we had to run some other tests. Now I need to ask you some rather, ah, personal questions and I need you to answer them as honestly as you can, alright?"

"Ok." I say slowly. I might as well play along since I'm obviously not going off world.

"When did you start to feel 'off ' as you put it?"

I think back, trying to remember. "About a month ago."

"Are you on any kind of contraceptive?"

"No." If I was it would be in my medical records, he should know that. And what's up with this line of questioning?

"When was your last cycle?" Carson asks, continuing on with the line of questioning.

I think for a bit, trying to remember. "Two months ago, I think." I finally say. I don't find that odd; I've always had strange cycles. Damn Advair. But that's what steroids do to your body and I'd prefer to be able to breathe over having regular cycles.

"When was the last time you were, erm, with someone?" Carson says, a faint blush appearing on his face.

"Excuse me?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. Talk about personal. Then it clicks. "I'm not..." I ask, trailing off and hoping, no _praying_ that I just have the flu or food poisoning.

A/N: I'm sadistic I know.


	35. Oh my

Looking at me, Carson doesn't need to say anything to answer my question.

My eyes go wide at the realization.

"This can _not_ be happening." I tell Carson, my mind having difficulty accepting the fact.

"I'm afraid so, lass. From what you've told me, two months would be my guess."

Two months? Then that means...duh, of course it'd be him. It's not like I slept with anyone else.

"Do you know who the father is?"

I must be shooting Carson a look because he clears his throat and says, "I'm not judging you lass, I have to ask."

Oh.

Moment of truth, I guess. I open my mouth to tell Carson and… hesitate.

"His name, lass." Carson gently prompts. "I need his name."

I continue to hesitate, still not sure. Finally I make up my mind and say, "I'm not gonna say."

"That's your choice Max," Carson says, setting down the clipboard. "but I do have to notify the IOA."

"What?" I ask, startled. "Why? Is it because I refuse to name the father?"

Carson shakes his head and says, "No lass. Since there are married couples on Atlantis the IOA stipulated that they be informed of every pregnancy. I can'nae see why."

"Oh."

Carson smiles and seems a bit more relaxed than he was a few minutes before. "Now tha' we got that bit of business taken care of there's jus' a few more things I need ta talk to you about…"

Carson goes on for a few more minutes but his voice fades in and out. All I can think about is how screwed up my life is right now.

I somehow make it back to my room without stopping to talk to Alex, Lydia, or Crysta about this. Hell, I don't even know if I'm gonna even _tell_ Logan. All I can think of is this little life inside of me right now.

I flop onto my bed and stare at the ceiling. Sighing, questions flash through my mind like lightening.

_What am I going to do? _

_Do I even want to keep it? _

_Do I tell Logan?_

_How do I handle the IOA? _

_How long can I keep this to myself? _

_Am I going to be able to stay? _

I am so screwed. Literally _and_ figuratively.

A/N: Yea, I know I'm evil; join the ever growing list. I would've kept this chapter hostage a bit longer but then it would have led to this long drawn out fic!war with Techie and that's something I don't want to get into at the moment. Standard disclaimers apply. Review.


	36. You Want the Truth? Well Here It Is

A week later…

I walk the hallways, unsure of where I'm going. I'm in the lab section of Atlantis and I have to say that it's confusing. Hallways are in the oddest places as are the doors. But I'm on a mission; to track down Logan.

I heard from Crysta, and Lydia confirmed it, that he was leaving the next time that the Daedalus leaves Atlantis. Why he didn't tell me himself I would like to know and intend to find out. That and there's that pesky little business of me telling him I'm pregnant with his kid.

Little stuff like that.

After getting lost about three times I manage to find his lab and am standing in front of the door. Two minutes later I'm still standing in front of the door, having second thoughts. But I take a deep breath to steady my nerves and move forward, the door sliding open.

Walking in I see boxes everywhere; some empty, some already closed and taped, some half full. "Hello?" I call out softly.

A head pops up from under the table and then Logan's face appears. "Max." Logan says with a surprise in his voice. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see if you leaving was actually true. I can see that it is."

"Yea..." Logan says, trailing off and suddenly finding the floor interesting at that moment.

"Any plans after getting back?" I ask.

"I'm gonna spend a few months in Seattle before going back to the SGC."

"Oh."

"Yea."

We stand in silence for a bit, both of us uncomfortable. "Why didn't you tell me?" I ask, looking at him.

"I didn't know you wanted to know." Logan says, returning my gaze.

I move closer to him, "Of course I wanted to know. Just because we've been avoiding each other doesn't mean that I don't care."

"So I'm something other than a friend to you?"

"No, you're _just_ a friend to me." I say while thinking, "_Yes, you're the father of my baby._" I don't know why I didn't say what I was thinking, there was just something holding me back.

Logan snorts, "Just a friend, real convincing."

"Logan, _don't_." I say, upset.

"Why not?" Logan retorts. "Think about it. When did we stop talking and seeing each other? It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. Things changed that night between us, Max; admit it or not."

I just stare at him, not sure how to respond to that. "I'm staying here two more years. Have a nice life." I finally say, shaking my head and turning to leave.

"Max, wait." Logan says grabbing my arm.

I stop and look at him. "Let me go." I say in a narrow tone. He just stands there, not moving so I break free of his grip and leave the room.

So much for telling him.

_-----_

The Daedalus is here and with it someone from the IOA. I guess I should start packing now.

Things have been a bit tense around here the last month. Elizabeth and Rodney got into a shouting match in her office last week and were so loud everyone in the Gate room could hear them through the closed doors, John and Teyla have been short with each other, and even Carson and Laura have snapped at one another.

Like they've spent enough time around me to actually do something other than talk to me.

Glancing out the hallway window I watch as people exit out of the ship and walk towards the city. I spot Dr. Weir off towards the side of the pier, waiting for someone. The IOA representative no doubt.

A man in a grey suit comes into view and pauses for a moment, scanning the area. Spotting Dr. Weir he starts towards her and when he reaches her, they shake hands and talk as they walk towards the doors. About what I have a good guess.

Not wanting to meet my executioner (so to speak), I head down the hallway towards the classroom. "_No rest for the wicked._" I muse as I enter and look at the pile of paperwork on my desk. Sighing, I grab a pen and start to work.

-----

Two days later I'm working in the classroom when I hear the door open and look up to see that it's Evan. "Hey." I say, setting down my pen.

"Hey." He replies back. "Everything going ok?"

Oh, God he knows. Well, it would be hard not to guess since Logan and I are barely speaking to each other and I'm visiting the infirmary much more than normal. I decide to play it down so I shrug and say, "As well as they could be."

"Anything you want to tell me?"

"_Nothing that you all ready know._" I think while feigning innocence and asking, "Why?"

"Because I just came from the briefing room where I was asked about my relationship with you."

Crap.

Evan puts his hands on the edge of the desk and leans forwards. "Care to explain why?"

Ok, so he apparently doesn't know. Might as well tell him. "I'm pregnant." I say, looking him in the eyes.

He's the first person I've told since I found out. I haven't told anyone; not even Alex, Lydia, or Crysta. I know that I should tell them, they'd want to know and they could be my "support" so to speak. I guess that I didn't tell them because they have their own issues to deal with and I don't want to seem like I'm asking for help. I can do this on my own.

Hopefully.

"How long?" He asks.

Ok, so he _did_ know. "Almost three months." I reply.

Evan opens his mouth to reply but at that same moment the door opens again and I hear, "_Why_ didn't you tell us!?"

I lean to the left so I can see who it is and at the same time Evan turns around. It's Lydia followed by Crysta. "Come on in, guys." I say dryly.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Lydia repeats.

"Tell you want?" I ask, honestly wondering what I didn't tell them.

"That you're pregnant with Logan's kid." Crysta says.

"Oh _that_." I say as Evan turns around and raises an eyebrow. I just shrug my shoulders and give him a guilty smile.

"I'll talk to you later." He says.

"Ok." I say softly. Evan then turns around and leaves. I sigh and close my eyes, feeling a headache coming on. This just keeps on getting better and better. "Who told you?" I ask.

"Well, after Woolsey got here he commandeered the briefing room, kicking me and Hiro out I might add, and he's in there with Carson for about a half-hour until he comes out, mad as hell. Today John comes down and he's in there for almost a half-hour as well, until there's shouting and John comes storming out of the room, pissed off beyond all reason. Then ten minutes later Evan goes in the room and is in there for an hour and then-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. How do you know all this?" I ask, interrupting Crysta.

"I was there the first day then Lydia told me the rest." She replies as if it had been obvious.

"Anyways," Lydia says, shooting Crysta a glance. "Evan comes out and asks me what the hell is going on, why he was being asked questions about you and him. At first I had no idea what he was talking about but then he mentioned how he had to account for his whereabouts in March and then it clicked. Of course I feigned innocence but he must have picked up on it because he kept pressing until I accidentally blurted out to him what happened between you and Logan."

Oy.

I resist the urge to hit my head on the desk and say, "What happened then?"

"He looked startled for a second then left. I hung out only long enough to see Woolsey exit the room and eye me. Seriously it was like he was Matt from 'Heroes' and could hear my thoughts. I left the Gate room in a hurry and ran into Crysta, filled her in on what was going on, then came here."

"So why didn't you tell us?" Crysta asks, crossing her arms.

"Yea, I thought that we were friends." Lydia comments, raising an eyebrow.

"We are, it's just that you guys were busy with your work and I didn't want to drop this on you. This is entirely my fault, pure and simple."

"Pretty much."

"Thanks."

"Well it's true."

"You tell Logan?" Crysta asks.

I hesitate, not sure what to say.

"Well?"

"Not exactly."

"Why?"

"Well for one thing we keep avoiding each other and then the one time I tried to tell him we ended up fighting and I told him in not so many words that I never wanted to see him again."

Before they're able to try and convince me to tell Logan my headset clicks and I hear Dr. Weir's voice telling me to report to the briefing room.

After telling her that I'd be right over, I stand and say, "Well, time for my execution."

"Oh come on, it's not going to be that bad." Lydia says, walking with me to the door.

"Lydia has a point. You don't have to tell them that Logan's the father if you don't want to." Crysta says, following me as well.

"True, but they're gonna ask me if it's one of the command staff." I point out.

"And you can honestly say no because he's not."

I sigh, that's all true. But it won't make the doubt go away.

A/N: yay, an update! -does happy dance- life had been crazy lately but now I'm on Spring Break so I plan to finish the story this week. Standard disclaimers apply, Review please.


	37. Burning Bridges

Ok, so Lydia was right and the questioning wasn't like an execution, but it came pretty close. At least it cleared up any doubt that is was someone on the command staff.

I think.

It was hard to tell from Woolsey's expression, the man must be great at poker.

----

I'm relaxing in my room, reading when the chime sounds. Wondering who it is I get up and walk towards the door. When it opens I see that it's Lydia.

"Hey can I come in?" she asks.

"Sure." I reply, stepping back.

"What's up?"

"Just wanted to see how you were."

"Uh-huh." I say; not totally convinced that that was the real reason. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just...I got my orders. I'm heading back to the SGC when the Daedalus leaves next week; Crysta as well. "

"Really? That's great." I say while thinking that I'm gonna miss them.

Lydia shrugs her shoulders and says, "I guess. It'd be good to actually see land again."

"Yea." I say, smiling. "We'll have to get together when I get back."

Lydia gives me a confused look, "I thought you were staying."

"Like they're gonna let me stay."

"Hey you never know."

"Whatever."

"Can I ask you something?" Lydia asks, suddenly uncomfortable.

"Sure, ask away."

"Are you gonna tell Logan?"

I'm silent for a few minutes, thinking. "Wasn't planning on it."

"Why?"

I hesitate, wondering if I should tell Lydia what I've been considering.

"Come on women, spill."

"Well..." I hesitate.

"Out with it!"

"I've been considering getting rid of it. So if I do-" The next thing I know my cheek is stinging and Lydia's face is tinged red with anger.

"Ow, what was that for?" I ask, gently touching my cheek.

"I was trying to knock some sense into to you." She replies. "What the hell are you thinking? Why even consider it?"

"Because I didn't want this, my life was going fine until this happened."

"Still, _how_ _could you_? You should be glad that this is happening. There are plenty of people who can't conceive."

I'm silent, not sure how to respond. Then it dawns on me why Lydia reacted like she did. "Oh God," I say, feeling horrible. "Lydia...I'm sorry...I feel like such an ass for saying something like that. I had no idea."

"What?" Lydia asks, eyebrows furrowing. Then it clicks, "Oh, please. I'm just saying that there are people who have a hard time or just can't. She sighs and looks at me, "Just promise me that you'll keep the baby and if you still don't want it when the time comes, give it up for adoption."

I shake my head, "I'm not promising anything."

"Just think about it then, ok?"

"If it'll get you off my back." I say.

Lydia just shakes her head, gives me a quick hug, and says, "I need to finish packing, I'll see you later alright?"

"Yea." I say somewhat distracted, my mind elsewhere. After Lydia leaves I can't help but think about our conversation.

-----

I walk onto the balcony and up to the railing where I lean up against it and stare out at the water. I breathe in the fresh air and sigh, this is the first time all day that I haven't felt like I was going to hurl.

The Daedalus left two days ago and with it Woolsey as well as Logan, Lydia, and Crysta. I made promises with Lydia and Crysta to keep in touch but I don't know if we really will.

And as for Logan...well we avoided each other all together. Although I'll admit that I can't seem to get him out of my mind ever since we last fought.

So now here I am, still on Atlantis for the time being waiting to hear if I'm staying or not.

Maybe if I do end up staying and keep the baby, I'll write him to let him know. Maybe.

"You're up late." I hear, bringing me back to reality.

I turn around and see that it's Evan. Faintly smiling, I reply, "So are you."

"I'm working, what's your excuse?"

"Couldn't sleep. Apparently when you're pregnant you become an insomniac."

"Really?" Evan asks with some degree of surprise in his voice, my use of sarcasm lost on him.

I shrug my shoulders and say, "Got me."

"Oh."

We stand in silence for a while until Evan says, "Why didn't you tell me?"

I turn around to face the railing again and shrug my shoulders. "I don't know, I guess that I was scared."

"Why?"

"Why do you think? It's not exactly like I planned this to happen." I snap. "You think I wanted this to happen? My life was going just fine thank you very much."

"I thought we were friends." Evan says his voice calm.

"We _are_, and so are Lydia, Alex, and Crysta. If you remember I didn't exactly tell them either."

"What about Logan? Does he know?"

I shake my head saying, "No."

"Why not?"

"Just…because."

"You should have told him."

"Why?" I ask, wondering why he's suddenly telling me what I should've/not done.

"Because then this whole mess would've been straightened out from the beginning and the IOA wouldn't have gotten involved."

"Oh, so you're saying that I should have told him so your precious Senior Staff didn't get asked if they banged the nanny?" I snort. "I should've told them that I got pregnant from a one-night stand with someone who's heir to the biggest government contract in the U.S. Yea, that would've gone over great. Might as well just add the word 'gold digger' to the list of names people are calling me. You want to know _why_ I didn't tell the IOA? Because I didn't want him to lose his job. He loves what he does and if I told them what do you think would've happened? He would've lost it so fast that he wouldn't of known what to think. That's why. And you don't need to be telling me what to do."

"I was just trying to help." Evan snaps.

"Well don't. I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself." I retort back.

"I can see that." He calls out as he walks back into Atlantis.

I stay on the balcony for a while longer, fuming over the entire situation. Part of me feels horrible for saying those things, I had no right to. Evan was only trying to help and I just made it worse.

Maybe Aaron was right and I push people away so I don't have to deal with what I might actually feel for them.

I guess that I _do_ still feel something for Logan. But what does it matter, anyways? He's gone and I'll never see him again.

Talk about burning bridges.

"_Too little, too late as always Maxie._" I think to myself as I stare out at the moon reflecting off of the water.

A/N: One/two more chapters to go. Standard discalimers apply and send your love for this chapter in the form of a review.


	38. Decision Reached

It's around six in the evening and I'm just finishing up some paperwork. The one good thing about all of this is that I'm on top of my paperwork; I guess I don't want to give them any extra reason's as to why I shouldn't stay here. Well that and the fact that Lyida and Crysta are no longer here and Alex has been busy as of late so that means I have a lot more free time on my hands.

It wasn't until everyone left that I realized how much time we spent together just talking, gossiping, watching movies, playing poker, or just having a good time. Made me realize how good friends Crysta, Lydia, Alex, and I really were.

So yea, I really miss them a lot. I just hope that we don't lose contact with each other; me, of all people, know what it feels like to be forgotten. When I first arrived, I used to get at least a bundle of letters and packages from my friends telling me how much they missed me and keeping me up to date on the goings-on back home.

Not so much anymore.

I hear the door slide open and look up to see Elizabeth coming in. "Did Kelly forget something?" I ask.

She shakes her head and waits until she's closer to speak. "The IOA contacted us during the weekly data burst. They've reached their decision about you." Elizabeth says.

Uh-oh. This can't be good.

"Really?" I ask dreading the answer.

Elizabeth nods her head, "They've decided that your contract is to be terminated."

I'm silent for a minute, letting the news sink in. "How soon?" I ask when I find my voice.

"Immediately. Kate will be finishing the school year for you."

"Oh."

"They want you to be on the Daedalus the next time it returns to Earth."

I just nod my head, at a loss for words.

There's an awkward silence where I have no idea what else could happen. "I'm sorry about this." Elizabeth finally says.

Although I can tell she's not genually sorry about it, I continue to nod my head still at a loss for words.

Elizabeth leaves and I sit there for god know's how long, my mind reeling in a thousand different directions.

I stand, intent on heading towards my room, and feel a sharp pain. I double over in pain and place a hand on my stomach, wondering what was happening.

The pain stops after a few seconds, and I make my way to the infirmary. I tell Carson about the pain, but he tells me not to worry; that in the beginning cramps and some bleeding are to be expected. He gives me some asprin and tells me to come back if the pain gets worse.

I walk back to my room and once there change into my pj's and turn off the lights, fully intent on going to sleep.

But sleep doesn't come and I'm wide awake, my mind stuck on one person; Logan.

Maybe I _was_ to hard on him and once I get back I should find him and tell him. After all he deserves to know.

But why should I even bother to tell him if I'm just going to get rid of the baby?

And if I tell him, he'll think that I'm going to hold it over his head in order to get something out of him. Which I don't.

But if I _don't_ tell him and end up keeping the baby, how am I going to answer why daddy isn't around?

I roll onto my back and sigh; so much for keeping things simple.

A/N: Final chaper'll be up tomorrow. Standard disclaimers apply. Review please!


	39. Good bye

"That's it." I say, setting the box down.

"You sure?" the Marine, Brice if I remember right, asks.

"Yup." I reply, nodding my head.

Brice just nods and starts hefting the boxes down the hallway.

I sigh and look around what had become my home in the (almost) year that I've been here. It looks just like I had first seen it, void of any feeling that anyone lived (or had lived) there. After one last look I sling my book bag over my shoulder and head out into the hallway.

Entering the transporter, I can't help but feel sad; I'm gonna miss this place, quirks and all. Exiting, I walk down the hallway towards the kitchen for one last good-bye to Alex. As I walk I can't help but think how much has happened since I first got here. Some good and some bad, but I would do it all over in a heartbeat.

The only thing I regret is not being able to say good-bye to the kids. I tried too, but Doctor Weir said that it would be best if I made a clean break and therefore avoid any awkward questions.

I know that's a load of bull, but didn't protest because I knew that it would only create more problems. And that's the last thing I want right now.

Last night Evan and I argued...again. But at least I knocked it through his thick head that I did what I think was the right thing.

I think. It was hard to tell because this time I was the one to storm out.

I enter from the back of the kitchen and I spot Alex over in her office at her desk. Smiling I make my way towards her. Softly knocking on the doorframe I say, "Hey there."

"Hey." She says, smiling and standing. "So tell me one more time _why_ the IOA is making you leave."

I shrug and say, "I dunno, something about 'unacceptable behavoir', 'unwilling to cooperate', and 'misconduct with ones superior'. I didn't read the full report."

Alex snorts and replies, "The IOA are a bastard bunch; they wouldn't know 'misconduct with ones superior' if it bit them in the arse."

I just smile; there's nothing I could add to that statement. "I just wanted to say one last good-bye. Don't kill Rodney, ok?" I say, giving her a hug.

"No promises." She replies. After we break the hug, she reaches down and hands me a package. "Somethin' for the baby."

I peek inside of it and see that it's a knitted baby blanket. "Thank you, that's so thoughtful." I say, smiling.

Alex waves a hand and says, "It's nothin' really. Just send pictures."

"Bundles and bundles of them. I'm gonna miss you."

"Me too, now scoot." Alex says, making shooing motions with her hands. "You're gonna miss the Daedalus and then I'll be stuck with you for another month."

I smile, give her one last hug, and walk out into the main hallway; joining the crush of people heading towards the Daedalus. Walking towards the Daedalus I stop one last time and turn around to look at the city; taking in every tower, every spire, committing it to memory.

I'm gonna miss this place.

Sighing, I turn back around and continue on my way to the Daedalus. I'll never forget my time in Atlantis; it was the job of a lifetime.

A/N: The End! -sniff- I'm gonna miss working on this story. But I'm not too sad because there shall be more stories with Max and the gang in the near future, so be on the look out for them. Standard disclaimers apply and kudos to Reefgirl for the line about the IOA. Review one last time, please!


End file.
